Naruto's Angel
by whippasnappa
Summary: Sasuke dies in an attempt to get back to Konoha, and is sent back as an angel to protect the one he died for, Naruto. Things go wrong when Sasuke finds Naruto seemingly unaffected by his death. Sasunaru, Yaoi. Don't own Naruto.
1. Prologue

Prologue 

Naruto was determined; this time he would bring back Sasuke. As team Kakashi approached Orochimaru's latest hideout, what they didn't expect was for Sasuke and Orochimaru to be fighting. At first, it might have seemed like they were training but the nervous look on the Orochimaru's face told otherwise.

Sasuke was trying to kill Orochimaru and the snake was fighting for his life. They both seemed to be evenly matched and the battle didn't look like it was going to end. That was until Naruto jumped by Sasuke's side and began fighting with him. The raven was more than a little surprised to see Naruto, and confused to find the blonde helping him, but considering the situation he didn't have time to argue.

The rest of Naruto's team began fighting Orochimaru's henchmen who were appearing by the dozen and joining the fray. Orochimaru was losing; he was no match for Sasuke and Naruto fighting together.

So the sannin decided if he was going down, he would take one of them with him. As Naruto came closer trying to hit Orochimaru with his rasengan, the sannin quickly pulled out his sword. Sasuke realized if Naruto killed Orochimaru, the blonde would be killed too. As Naruto hit the snake with his rasengan, Sasuke shoved Naruto out of the way, taking the blonde's place. Orochimaru died, but not before plunging his chakra-infused sword into the raven.

It was that day Sasuke died in Naruto's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke looked around. Everything seemed to be bathed in a bright white light. Soon his eyes got used to the unnatural brightness and he began making out moving figures. The raven walked forward, hoping things would become clearer. They did, and soon he could see he was in a long room. It was decorated extravagantly, almost everything coloured the purest white.

He moved up the room, and at the top, was a large desk with an aged man sitting there quietly. Sasuke made his way to the person, hoping he would get some kind of explanation. His eyes shifted to the left slightly and, as he got closer, he noticed a young man stood by the side of the desk. He had large white wings spread out behind him. "Am…am I dead?" the raven asked stupidly. The old man looked up from his desk, almost like he had only noticed Sasuke's presence. He smiled at the raven. "Ah, Sasuke Uchiha, I presume."

The man spoke slowly and clearly. Sasuke was surprised the man knew his name. It was then he noticed the man had wings too. They were white; similar to the ones the young man had standing beside his desk. Except the elders appeared to be bigger. The raven eyed the white wings sceptically, wondering if they were somehow attached to his back. "Where am I?" Sasuke asked. The man picked up some papers and began shuffling them.

Once he was finished, he placed them back where they were. The whole action seemed pointless to Sasuke, like the man was just trying to annoy him more by stalling with the answer, but, trying to be as polite as possible, Sasuke said nothing. "You are in the court of angels." The man replied simply. Sasuke simply gaped. Court…of what? That would explain the wings then, he thought. The raven remembered his fight with Orochimaru. "I _am_ dead then." He mumbled. "So…your all angels here then?" he asked. The man answered with a nod of his head.

"Then what am I doing here?" the young man beside the desk stared at the raven with an annoyed look, but said nothing. "You are to be a guardian." The elder said. Sasuke didn't reply to this.

"I thought I would end up somewhere a little…hotter, you know? Fiery flames of hell type hot." The man smiled and picked up a large envelope. He pulled several pages from the envelope and scanned them quickly. "I know you made several mistakes in your life, however-" Sasuke broke the man's speech with a loud snort.

"I think several would be an understatement." He said. The man stood next to the desk stepped forward, wings outstretched. "How _dare _you speak with such disrespect and arrogance!" he hissed. Sasuke ignored him. he knew right from the start he wasn't going to like this person. "You should apologize immediately!" the man continued. "You have no right to-"

"Rowan." The loud voice echoed throughout the hall.

The young man, who Sasuke now knew was called 'Rowan' stepped backwards, muttering apologies. "This is Rowan. He is a guardian, the same as you will be. A guardian's job is to watch over the one they are assigned to."

"Right." He said. Rowan seemed infuriated again.

"How dare you speak to Lorde-sama like that!" the old man placed his arm in front of Rowan and motioned backwards. The brown-haired man moved back again. "Just speak with some respect." He hissed to Sasuke, before falling silent again.

"I'm sorry…Lorde-sama?" he added the name, wondering if he had been correct this time. Rowan didn't say anything, so Sasuke presumed he was correct. The man nodded.

"Now, you will be assigned to someone you need to watch over. We believe, because of your death, this person may be a risk. You need to watch them day and night." Sasuke nodded. "No one in the real world will be able to see you, or hear you." Lorde continued. "That means you will, in no way, be able to contact anyone. Some humans may be sensitive to your presence, and may feel something, but they wont see you." Sasuke nodded again, letting Lorde know he understood everything. "The only thing important to you should be the one who you are assigned to. If you find that their life is in danger, _truly _in danger, then this is where this comes in." Lorde pulled a small box from his robes and placed it on the desk.

He pushed it forward for Sasuke to take. The raven opened the box and found a necklace. Hung on a delicate silver chain was what looked like a teardrop. Sasuke picked it up and touched it gently. To the raven's surprise, it was solid. "This is something all guardians have. Contained in that small glass case is a single unicorn teardrop. It is probably the most important thing I can give you, and it is a last resort to save the one you must protect." He gave Sasuke another moment to stare at the small necklace. "Put it on." Sasuke complied, and quickly put the necklace around his neck. "If you believe your charge is really going to die, simply let the teardrop fall to the floor. It is most delicate, and once broken will give you a limited time to save your charge. You will become visible, and able to touch anything your desire. Once it has been broken, it cannot be used again." Lorde cleared his throat and picked up another sheet of paper. "The person you will protect will be…Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

He pushed forward a picture of the familiar blonde. Sasuke didn't even need to look at the photograph to know who Lorde meant. Sasuke simply stood there with his eyes wide. "Ah, you know this boy?" Lorde asked. Sasuke nodded.

"I know- I mean…I knew him well. He was my best friend. Well, I don't suppose I deserve to call him that anymore after what I did to him, but…" Sasuke trailed off, feeling he had said too much. "Wait…" Sasuke said, remembering something Lorde had said earlier. "Because of my death Naruto is at risk?" Sasuke asked. Lorde look at Sasuke thoughtfully. "Yes. That is why you have been assigned to watch Naruto Uzumaki. Rowan will take you down to the real world, and tell you how to get back."

Sasuke jumped and looked down. Was this heaven then? Were they in the sky? The raven groaned. This was all too much to take in at once. He stared at Rowan. Perhaps this was some kind of a joke? Suddenly his body felt heavier and the raven fell backwards. He hit the hard floor with a thump. Sasuke looked behind him; it had felt like someone had pulled him over from behind. What he didn't expect was to see a large pair of wings protruding from his _own _shoulder blades. Rowan smirked down at Sasuke, who was currently trying to stand up again.

Finally the flustered raven managed to get to his feet. Rowan was still smirking; obviously enjoying the fact Sasuke was struggling with his new development. Sasuke desperately tried to unfold one of his painfully bent wings, only to nearly fall backwards again. At this, Rowan simply smiled wider. Sasuke shot a glare in his direction. "Oh yeah? Well these things are bloody heav-"

"Sasuke!" the raven's head whipped round to meet an angry Lorde. The man's usual gentle expression was gone, replaced by one of anger. "Please refrain from using such profanities in the court of angels. Remember your place Sasuke." Sasuke stared at the floor. "I'm sorry, Lorde-sama." He said quietly. The man relaxed.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." He said shortly. Sasuke nodded, but was still confused. He could tell, by the way Rowan treated him with such respect, that this Lorde-guy was probably important. Perhaps a leader of some kind. Sasuke glanced around the white room. Or a god? The man looked up. "Rowan." He said quietly.

"Yes, Lorde-sama?" he asked.

"Take Sasuke down now, also tell him how to get back. He should be able to find his charge by himself." Rowan bowed slightly and motioned for Sasuke to follow him. The raven took one last disbelieving glance at the blinding white room, before following Rowan.

A/n: Well, this is the first chapter - hope you liked it! I will be posting the next part soon.

Whippasnappa.


	3. Chapter 3

Rowan landed gracefully on the ground and waited for Sasuke expectantly, thinking the raven would land in a heap. To his displeasure, Sasuke dropped next to him and landed perfectly like he had done this before. "I think I'm getting the hang of it now." Sasuke practically snarled, faking a smile. Rowan couldn't even fake a smile; he simply gave the raven a grimace. "That's good." He said through gritted teeth. Sasuke didn't really want to speak to Rowan any more than he really had to, but there was something he wanted to ask. "What did Lorde mean when he told me to remember my place?" he asked. Rowan glared.

"That's Lorde-_sama _to you." He corrected.

Sasuke sighed. "That's what I mean. Who is he exactly?" Sasuke asked. Rowan decided to answer that question. "He most important in the court of angels. The most wise, and the most powerful. Lorde-sama decides everything and how he wants us guardians to act." Sasuke nodded slowly.

"So… basically he's a sort of god then?" Rowan rolled his eyes.

"Such a human way of looking at things." He said with a snort. "But yes, you could call him that." He finished with a sigh. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"So what? I bet you were human once, right?" Sasuke asked. The already chilly atmosphere between them dropped a few more degrees. "I suggest you shut your mouth before I shut it for you, Uchiha." Rowan's white wings spread out behind him, making him seem rather intimidating. "Just find your charge and watch him Uchiha. Just so you know, it's been three weeks since you died." He hissed, before taking off into the night.

Sasuke sighed and watched as Rowan disappeared. He made a mental note never to mention Rowan's human life; he seemed to be very touchy about it. Scratch that, he made a note never to talk to 'that stuck up bastard' again. Sasuke began trying to find Naruto. He decided to check the blonde's flat first as it would be the most likely place Naruto would be. Sasuke took off again, hoping that he could get there faster by flight. On his way to Naruto's flat he noticed a flicker of yellow on the ground. Sasuke landed, wondering if it could be Naruto. It turned out he had got lucky and found the blonde.

Naruto wasn't alone; he was with Kiba. It seemed that neither of them could stand properly, each of them grabbing the other and stumbling down the street. Kiba tripped over, pulling Naruto with him. They both roared with laughter. "I think we might be a bit little drunk…" Kiba slurred. Naruto grabbed Kiba's shirt and pulled himself to his feet and threw his friend a silly grin.

They finally managed to stumble into the flat, Kiba collapsing on the sofa. Sasuke watch Naruto joke around with his friend. "Didn't he miss me…at all?" Sasuke asked. He got no reply from the laughing blonde. Sasuke felt rage overflow him. He left Naruto and Kiba alone, getting away from them both. Sasuke found he had flown to his own training ground. He landed gracefully on one of the posts. He almost smiled when he remembered it was the same one Naruto had been tied to.

All this time Naruto had been out with his friends having a good time. Sasuke knew he shouldn't expect the blonde to welcome him with open arms after betraying the village like he did, but he didn't think Naruto would be so carefree after his death. Sasuke sighed. It was more than that. It was like he didn't care at all. Sasuke felt angry with himself for getting so upset over this. His sadness was quickly replaced with rage. His white wing snapped out behind him. "Fucking dobe. I hate you." He snarled.

Remembering that he was supposed to stay with Naruto at all times, he begrudgingly made his way back. The raven stood outside the door wondering how he was going to get in. last time, he managed to slip inside the flat with Naruto and Kiba. Perhaps, in his drunken state, Naruto forgot to lock the door? Sasuke gripped the door handle and found it was locked. Sasuke sighed. "how the hell am I supposed to watch Naruto if I can't get in his house?" He asked angrily, hitting the door angrily. To Sasuke's surprise, his hand simply went straight through the wood. Hoping this new development wouldn't wear off too quickly, Sasuke jumped through the door. Naruto still had the same stupid smile on his face. This time, he was poking Kiba, who had obviously fallen asleep on the sofa, with what looked like an old chopstick. "Kiba!" he whined.

The dog lover grumbled and rolled off the sofa. He hit the floor with a thud. Naruto laughed. "You 'wake now?" he asked, in the same singsong voice. "Hey, naru, I'm gonna crash at your place." He mumbled, already half-asleep. The blonde laughed again. "Fine, but don't whine at me when you wake up with a bad back!" Kiba was far to drunk to even care where he was sleeping. Loud snores came from Kiba, indicating the dog lover was asleep. Naruto stumbled into the kitchen, still giggling to himself.

The blonde was looking in all of his cupboards, looking for more alcohol. "Yeesss!" the blonde gave a little dance of victory when he found what he was looking for, only to fall to the floor. Naruto didn't even bother getting up off the floor; he just unscrewed the bottle and drank as much as he could in one gulp. The blonde coughed as the strong liquid burned his throat. Naruto sat up, leaning against the cupboard. Sasuke simply glared. The raven didn't care he had to stay with Naruto anymore. He stormed out, deciding to leave the blonde alone. "Well I don't care about you either, _Naruto_." he snarled.

If Sasuke had stayed a moment longer, he would have seen Naruto burst into tears, mumbling the raven's name.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke was in a furious rage. He prepared to take off into the sky, hell-bent on getting Lorde to change his mind. The raven didn't care what happened when he refused to watch the blonde; he didn't want to be around Naruto, learning just how little everyone cared about his death. Rowan appeared next to him. "What's the problem now?" he drawled.

Sasuke shot the other guardian a glare. "Guardians watch more than one person, right?" Sasuke asked. Rowan sighed and gave the impression that Sasuke's question was a completely stupid one.

"This has nothing to do with your job. Lorde-sama will inform you of things as you need them." Rowan said.

"Well, tell Lorde-_sama _that I refuse to be anywhere near the stupid dobe." Even Rowan was confused by Sasuke's reaction. "He doesn't even care! Not one _bit _that I've died. I hate him. I got Naruto all wrong. Obviously he _wasn't _worth dying for." Rowan looked like he wanted to murder Sasuke.

"You didn't deserve to know Naruto." he snarled. Sasuke wondered what Rowan meant by that, but before he could ask, the other angel had spread his wings, ready to leave. "I suggest you get back to your charge, Uchiha." He threw the raven a disgusted. "Then again, I knew it was only a matter of time before you directly disobeyed Lorde-sama's orders." Sasuke wasn't given time to argue as the other flew into the night. Sasuke gave an indignant huff. "Fine, I will go back to the dobe..." He grumbled. He concentrated, trying to remember how he passed through the door before. He pressed his hand against the window and like last time, his hand passed through. He saw Naruto on the bed, facing away from the raven.

He climbed inside the room. Sasuke looked down over the blonde. "…Because unlike you, Naruto, I considered you a friend." He said angrily, even though Sasuke knew he was only here because he didn't want to deal with Rowan's complaining. "S-Sasuke…" the raven jumped. Naruto could see him? The blonde curled up into a ball. The raven frowned; was Naruto shaking? Sasuke groaned. Perhaps Naruto had made himself really ill with all the alcohol he had been drinking. Sasuke began to panic. What if Naruto had given himself alcohol poisoning or something?

He had no way to get help when no one could see or hear him. He walked around the bed so he could see the blonde's face. He gasped when he saw that Naruto was crying. "Sasuke…" the blonde mumbled again, burying his face in a pillow and crying louder. Sasuke watched Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto pulled his face from the pillow, tears falling silently. The blonde slipped his hand under the pillow and pulled out a piece of paper. Sasuke moved forward and saw that it was a photograph. Naruto wiped his eyes and stared at the picture wistfully. "I miss you so much, Sasuke." He mumbled. Sasuke stared at the photo; it was a picture of himself. He looked like he had fallen asleep outside on the grass. He didn't remember giving Naruto permission to take that photo. Then again, if the blonde had asked, he would have refused anyway.

The raven sighed. He remembered that day; it was long before he left for Orochimaru. He and the blonde had been training together and after a spectacular win from Naruto, exhausted afterwards, Sasuke had just pulled his shirt off and collapsed under a tree. The next thing he had remembered was waking up in his own house; Naruto had obviously carried him home. Sasuke smiled. Naruto had never let him live that day down. It was one of the occasions that Naruto had beaten Sasuke, and the blonde had bragged about it as often as possible. Sasuke shook his head. Dwelling on old memories was not what he was supposed to be doing. He watched the blonde wipe his eyes again and pushed the photo back under the pillow. The raven wondered where Naruto was going now.

Naruto had gone outside, leaving Kiba alone in the flat. The blonde didn't seem to be at all drunk anymore; he was walking perfectly fine, unlike before when he could barely stand. Perhaps it had something to do with kyuubi's healing powers? The raven wondered. Sasuke followed, flying near the blonde. Sasuke found he no longer had the speed he used to as a ninja; he couldn't use chakra either. Naruto could move at a fast speed, and Sasuke needed to fly to keep up. Sasuke was thankful when Naruto finally slowed down; using his wings proved very annoying to Sasuke. They kept aching when he flew for too long, perhaps because it was his first time using them, Sasuke thought. Sasuke had no clue where Naruto would be going at this time of night. His question was answered when he looked around. "Dobe? Why you here?" he asked. As expected, he got no answer. Soon the blonde stopped walking and dropped down to his knees gently.

"A graveyard, Naruto?" he wondered aloud. Naruto placed his hand on the stone in front of him. "I'm back again, Sasuke." He said softly. Sasuke stood behind the blonde and looked at the gravestone. _'Uchiha Sasuke' _was written on it. _'Died protecting a comrade, he will be missed by many.' _Sasuke frowned. Naruto was hardly his comrade at the time. "I know I keep saying this, but I really wish I'd died instead." Naruto said quietly.

"What?" This surprised Sasuke.

"Everyone's right. I'm living a life built on your corpse. I shouldn't have got in the way…" Naruto sighed. Sasuke looked at the blonde with despair. What had people been saying to him? Naruto down. "Sakura finally managed to persuade me to go out tonight. I think she's trying to cheer me up, but no matter how much I drank, I couldn't help thinking about you, Sasuke." He mumbled.

"Everyone doesn't hate you anymore. After they found out what you did for me…I think even Neji misses you. Well, okay, perhaps not Neji," Naruto smiled, but it was obviously forced and faded quickly. "I don't think I can be hokage anymore." He continued. Naruto began running his finger over the headstone, tracing Sasuke's name. "The village hates me. Even more than they did." He said sadly. Naruto clenched his fists. "Why would you do that Sasuke? Why sacrifice yourself? For me?" Naruto's questions went unanswered.

Sasuke tried to touch the blonde; despite the fact he had already been told he wouldn't be able to touch humans. His hand slipped though Naruto. Sasuke sighed. He wished he were alive so he could comfort Naruto. His hand lingered over his necklace, but then he pulled away. It was something he could use only once, when Naruto's life was in danger. Lorde had made it clear that it was very important.

Using it now, as much as Sasuke wanted to hold the blonde, would be a waste. The raven settled for just watching Naruto, who was trying not to cry. "I hope you can hear me Sasuke. I want you to know that I'm sorry." Naruto whispered. "Then again, if you could, I'm sure you'd think I was being stupid, crying like this." Naruto stood up slowly, his eyes never leaving the stone. "Its not stupid, I miss you too Naruto." His answer went unheard. "I'll come again tomorrow night. Goodbye, Sasuke."


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke had watched Naruto walk all the way back to his flat. Kiba was still fast asleep on the floor, snoring loudly. He watched as Naruto dragged Kiba back on to the sofa and then threw a blanket over his sleeping friend before going to bed himself.

The raven couldn't help but watch Naruto as he slept. He was glad he was given the chance to come back now; there were a few things he really wanted to know. Why did Naruto come to the grave at night, and not during the day? And what was with him not being able to be the hokage?

It was his dream! And the village hating him more than before? Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. He was starting to feel very guilty about all the things he said about Naruto. The blonde certainly did care he was gone. Sasuke stared at Naruto's sleeping form. In fact, he had never known that Naruto had considered him so important. Sasuke lead beside Naruto on the bed despite the fact the blonde wouldn't know he was there.

To Sasuke's surprise, he found that he couldn't sleep. He didn't need to either. When he thought about it, the raven noticed he didn't really need anything else he normally would. Food, drink, things he would have wanted by now, seemed like nothing. Sasuke wondered if he could pick things up. He could stay on the bed without going through it, so perhaps he could move something in an attempt to let Naruto know he was there? Sasuke decided he would try that in the morning when Naruto woke up.

The raven waited and waited, but Naruto seemed to sleep for ages. Much to his delight, Sasuke found he could move things. He pulled the covers away from Naruto and threw them on the floor, hoping it would wake the blonde. Naruto simply let out a disappointed whine, felt around obviously trying to find the blankets, then gave up and fell into a deep sleep again. It was then Sasuke began staring at Naruto. The blonde slept only in his boxers, and Sasuke could see that something was clearly wrong with Naruto.

He looked like he hadn't eaten for weeks. The blonde was sleeping on his side, and Sasuke could clearly see Naruto's ribs. He just looked so frail, like the smallest touch could break him. It was then Naruto rolled over and Sasuke noticed something even worse. There were large bruises all over Naruto's chest. On closer inspection, Sasuke noticed some cuts too. Panic welled up inside the raven; what the hell was going on? When he had been with Orochimaru, he had researched all about the Kyuubi. His excuse to the snake was that if he came across Naruto again, he would find it easier to kill the blonde if he knew everything about the demon sealed inside him.

The truth was, that Sasuke was simply curious. He had found many interesting things, like how the Kyuubi would heal its container. Sasuke had seen it before on missions. Naruto would always recover at an alarming rate, and when he was seen the next day, the blonde was always perfectly fine. Sasuke eyed a particularly nasty bruise. If the Kyuubi was healing him…he shuddered to think what it was like when it was first made. Rage surged throughout Sasuke. Naruto couldn't have done this himself. Someone was hurting him. Sasuke decided to make sure he found out who it was.

While the raven was thinking about how he could get revenge for Naruto, the blonde had woken up. Sasuke watched as he trudged to the bathroom. It looked like someone had sucked the life out of him, and judging by Naruto's appearance, Sasuke didn't think he was too far from the truth. The raven decided that guardians didn't need to watch their charges _all _the time, and let the blonde have a little privacy. Sasuke decided to wait downstairs with Kiba, who was still asleep and snoring loudly. The raven noticed a glass of water on the table. Smirking, he picked it up and poured it over Kiba. The dog lover woke up with a start. "Huh? Wha?" he gripped his hair and flopped back down groaning.

"Urgh, my head…" Kiba dragged himself into the kitchen, looking for some painkillers, all the while mumbling. Sasuke caught the words 'alcohol' and 'never again'. Sasuke heard a knock at the door.

"Hey, Naruto." the blonde came bounding down the stairs with a newfound energy, a large smile plastered on his face. Sasuke's jaw dropped. His attitude had completely changed! "Yeah?" Kiba waved his arm in the direction of the front door and covered his ears. "Not so loud…" he grumbled. Naruto went to answer the door. Sasuke followed, wondering who it would be.

Naruto opened the door. "Hello Sakura-chan!" he said brightly. Sakura smiled back. "You and Kiba managed to get home alright then?" she asked. Naruto nodded.

"You know I…" Naruto didn't really want to mention the fact that he can only get drunk for a little while because Kyuubi heals him. "I'm not a lightweight like Kiba, so I had to drag him here!" Kiba appeared next to Naruto staring pleadingly at Sakura.

"You came to heal me, right?" he asked. Sasuke shook her head.

"I came to see Naruto. Its your own fault for drinking so much!" Kiba covered his ears again. "Alright, alright, just don't shout! Urgh, I think I'm going to be sick…"Kiba darted off. Naruto laughed as his friend ran up the stairs trying to find the bathroom. When Kiba had gone, Sakura's expression became more serious. "Naruto, you look really pale. Have you stopped eating again?" she asked in an urgent tone. Naruto shook his head.

"Of course not!" he assured her. Sasuke watched as Naruto convinced Sakura everything was fine. Finally, she gave in. "oh for crying out loud!" Sasuke hissed. "Can't you _tell_ he's not alright?"

"You want to go out for some ramen?" Sakura asked. It was only Sasuke who caught the fleeting look of horror pass across the blonde's face. "A date?" Naruto asked, his voice filled with fake hope. Sakura laughed. "I don't think Lee would be too impressed!" she said.

"Not a date, but I'll pay for as much as you want!" usually this would get Naruto jumping for joy. "I-I'm not sure, I mean I don't want to leave Kiba here…not while he's sick."

"Kiba will be fine, I want to talk to you alone." Naruto was genuinely interested now. He shouted to Kiba. "Hey, I'm going out for ramen, I'll see you later!"

"Don't talk to me about food!" came the reply.

Naruto had finished his first bowl and kept making excuses as to why he didn't want anymore. The blonde then asked what she wanted to talk to him about. "Its about…Sasuke." Naruto's fake smile slipped a bit.

"What about him?" he asked quietly. Sasuke moved closer so he could hear everything. "You never seem to want to talk about it," she said.

"There's nothing to talk about." He snapped back.

"That's just it, Naruto. There is. Don't think I haven't noticed! Since Sasuke…" she sighed sadly; it was hard for her, too. "Since he d-died you haven't been the same. You don't eat properly, and you keep avoiding everyone unless we practically force you to be with us! And…I keep seeing cuts and bruises on you." She finished. "I know you miss him, Naruto, I do too."

Naruto refused to look at her. Sasuke felt a wave of relief flow through him. At least someone was helping the blonde. At least someone noticed. "Please tell me what's going on." She asked. "I can help."

"Sakura-chan, don't be ridiculous!" the fake grin was in place again. "Sure, I miss Sasuke, but I am eating!" he pointed to the bowl he had just finished.

"Yes, but when was the last time you had something before that?" she asked. Naruto knew she could tell. "I'm eating fine!" he assured her. "Look, I'll even have another bowl if it makes you happy!" he said. "Or three."

He added with a smile. Sakura seemed convinced by this. "And…the bruises?" she asked. When Naruto had finished ordering his ramen, he answered. "You know what a klutz I can be, Sakura-chan!" Sakura seemed to think this explained everything. "Yeah, okay. Just, if there ever is anything wrong, I'm always here for you Naruto." she said. Naruto nodded.

Sasuke felt like punching something. How could she fall for that? He walked over to Sakura. "There is something wrong with Naruto! Someone is hurting him!" he yelled at her. She didn't even move. "Damnit!"

Naruto practically shoved the food down his throat and left Sakura. Sasuke flew above Naruto and he didn't miss all the horrible looks he was getting as he walked down the street. The raven was puzzled. What was their problem? Then he remembered what Naruto had said about them hating him even more. A stone sailed through the air and narrowly missed Naruto.

It was closely followed by a kunai. The blonde darted away, but two angry people followed him. As Naruto turned the corner in a deserted street, he was tackled to the ground. "I got yer!" Naruto tried to wriggle away, and in return he got a punch in the stomach. Sasuke knew how frail Naruto was at the moment. The blonde let out a small whimper and his struggles became weaker and weaker. "Why did you do it, monster?" one of them asked angrily, holding a large knife. "D-do what?"

"You killed the Uchiha! Don't even deny it, you filthy demon!" Naruto didn't even try and fight them off.

"What the hell are you doing, Naruto?" Sasuke yelled. The raven knew how powerful Naruto was, and couldn't understand why he wouldn't fight back. "I didn't m-mean to." He told them. "He j-just jumped in the way!" for this, Naruto was hit again. Sasuke tried to grab the men, but his hands simply glided straight through them. "I should kill you. One less piece of trash in this world." The man came forward with the knife.

Scared, Naruto kicked him off and forced himself to his feet. The blonde quickly, much to Sasuke's displeasure, apologized to the person for the kick and ran off before he could be attacked again.

Naruto was considerably slower with his new injuries, but eventually made it home. Kiba was nowhere to be found when he got back, and Naruto was glad of this. The blonde pulled his clothes off and slipped into bed, his new bruises clear for Sasuke to see. Another quick longing glance at the picture of Sasuke he had, Naruto fell asleep clutching his stomach, willing the pain away.

The raven watched with murderous eyes. He needed to help Naruto. Somehow, he just had to.


	6. Chapter 6

Sasuke watched with disbelief as Naruto climbed out of bed and began getting dressed. It was now night. The raven knew where Naruto was going; his grave. Sasuke noticed that the older bruises had gone, and the new ones were fading. Kyuubi was obviously healing them. Naruto made his was silently to Sasuke's grave. The raven followed. "Sasuke…"

Naruto began talking quietly. He seemed to be doing exactly what he was doing before, apologizing for what sounded like everything. "Please stop, dobe. I don't blame you for anything, it wasn't your fault! I do have my own free will you know!" Sasuke said sadly, knowing he wouldn't be heard.

"-And then I got away. I suppose it was my fault. Perhaps I should have let them kill me," Naruto murmured. Much to Sasuke's relief, Naruto added something else to the end of that sentence. "Then again, you would have died for nothing. I mean, you obviously wanted me to live…otherwise you wouldn't have-"

Naruto stopped talking, trying not to cry again. Naruto sighed and simply sat in silence, staring at the stone in front of him. Sasuke moved in front of Naruto and tried to pick up a stone. Perhaps if he dangled it in Naruto's face, the blonde would know he was there? Sasuke's hand slipped straight through the stone. "What? I could pick things up before…" he thought, confused. He called Rowan. The brown-haired angel appeared next to him. "I didn't think you would come," Sasuke said. Rowan sighed.

"I don't have much of a choice in the matter, Uchiha. Don't think for a minute that I actually want to." He assured Sasuke.

"Well I don't want you here either, I just wanted to know something!" Sasuke growled. He calmed himself down, knowing Rowan would be reluctant to give him an answer if he was rude.

"I was just wondering, why can't I touch anything anymore?" Rowan didn't understand what Sasuke meant, so the raven elaborated. "Before, I picked up a glass of water. Now, I can't pick up that rock. Why?" he asked. Rowan rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you were trying to get the human to acknowledge your presence by picking up that rock?" he asked in a bored tone. Sasuke looked away.

"Hn." Was it really that predictable he would try that?

"You can't do anything when you have the intention to reveal yourself. It's just a way Lorde-sama has of making sure our existence is not exposed. Showing ourselves to humans is only what should be done in an attempt to keep them from harm, not whatever you were trying to do.

To keep that to a minimum, we can only make contact once, with the help of the unicorn teardrop." Rowan pointed to the necklace Sasuke was wearing. "I believe now you realize how important that is. You will only _ever_ get once chance." Sasuke nodded to show he understood.

"Then what exactly is the point? I have to watch him go through all this, knowing there's no way I can help him! Its torture…" he turned to Naruto, who had tears flowing down his face again. "Isn't there any way-?"

"No." Rowan said shortly.

"I'm leaving now. Unlike you, my time is valued. In future, keep your stupid questions to yourself." With a flap of wings, Rowan was gone. Sasuke glared at the spot the other guardian had currently been standing in. what was that guy's problem? He thought angrily. He turned around to fine Naruto gone. "Oh, great. Just what I need." He groaned, taking off into the sky, trying to find the blonde.

It didn't take Sasuke long to find Naruto; the blonde was simply on his way home. Like before, Sasuke watched Naruto sleep, every second wishing he could in some way comfort the blonde.

Sasuke went downstairs. He had, last night, been given another glimpse of how much Naruto had been eating recently. That last thing the blonde had eaten was that ramen Sakura had practically forced down his throat. He opened the cupboard and wondered what was there for Naruto to have for breakfast. The entire cupboard was filled with instant ramen. Sasuke groaned; how predictable. Knowing there wouldn't be much else, Sasuke decided he would make this for Naruto.

Suddenly, his ability to touch things faded. Sasuke looked upwards angrily. "This isn't an attempt to show him I'm here!" he snarled. "Its an attempt to make breakfast, if that's possibly okay with you?" he snarled. The raven had no idea if Lorde or Rowan would hear him. It was obvious that Rowan couldn't; he would be down in seconds, nagging about how 'dare he disrespect Lorde-sama' Sasuke groaned. He could practically hear him whining now. Whoever had heard him, it seemed to have done the trick as Sasuke resumed making the food for the blonde.

Minutes later, the raven carried the steaming food up to Naruto. He placed the cup on the table beside the bed. The blonde woke up quickly, the smell dragging him awake. He spotted the cup and sighed, a small smile on his face. "Sakura, you worry too much." He mumbled, rolling over. Sasuke felt a small twinge of jealousy that Naruto would instantly think of her. Then again, his inner voice, which reminded him too much like Rowan, told him that did Naruto really expect his dead best friend to have possibly made him breakfast? Sasuke shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts. "Come on, dobe. Eat it!" Naruto didn't move.

Sasuke sighed. "Don't carry on like this, just eat it, please," Sasuke begged. Naruto didn't hear a think, but minutes later, rolled back over and picked up the cup. Sasuke let out a sigh of relief when Naruto began eating. "Thank god…" Sasuke murmured. He happily watched as Naruto finished eating and walked into the bathroom. Sasuke sat on the bed waiting for Naruto to finish in the shower. The blonde came out, minutes later; wearing nothing but a towel that was tied around Naruto's waits so loosely it was threatening to slip down at any moment. Sasuke's jaw dropped. He could stop himself from staring as water droplets dripped from Naruto's hair down his chest…lower…then lower…Sasuke snapped his head up, angry with himself for staring. And why the hell was he blushing? Sasuke left the room so the blonde could get changed. He waited downstairs, trying to calm himself down.

By the time Naruto came downstairs fully dressed, Sasuke had decided to push any thoughts he had had that moment out of his mind, never to dwell on them again. He decided to make a point that he would leave the room as soon as Naruto woke up, to avoid another incident like before. Sasuke didn't know why he would suddenly find himself staring at his half-naked teammate, but he was going to make sure it didn't happen again! Naruto began picking up empty drink bottles and throwing them away; he still hadn't tidied up since he had been drinking with Kiba, and the place was beginning to look a mess. Everything looked much cleaner when the bottles were out of the way. Naruto sat down on the sofa and looked around. He was trying to find something else to do; when he wasn't busy, his thoughts constantly dwelled on Sasuke. Naruto gave in and went upstairs. He took another look at the picture of Sasuke, his blue eyes filled with longing. The raven wondered if he should hide the picture. Perhaps it would help Naruto forget about him, and move on with his life. Then again, it could upset the blonde, and that is exactly what Sasuke didn't want to do right now. "Naruto."

The blonde jumped and quickly stuffed the picture back under his pillow. "I knocked on the door, but you didn't answer and it was open. I'll…come back later?" it was Sakura. Naruto quickly jumped off the bed, hoping that she hadn't seen the photograph. Sasuke caught Sakura staring at the empty ramen cup sitting on Naruto' bedside table. He hoped she wouldn't mention it, because as far as Naruto knew, she had been the one to leave it there. Much to Sasuke's relief, she didn't say anything about it. "N-no, its fine. What was it you wanted?" Naruto asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that Gaara's in town today. He had to speak with the hokage about something, but I think he wants to talk to you too." She said. Naruto's fake grin was in place immediately. "Sure, I'll get my coat!"

Sasuke wasn't too pleased about having to be around Gaara all day. He had never liked him, and had always, even though he didn't want to admit it, always been jealous of the closeness between Naruto and the redhead. When it was getting late, Naruto decided he should leave. "Naruto, if you ever need anything, I'm always here for you." Gaara said quietly. Naruto smiled; that was probably the kindest thing Gaara had ever managed to say. "Thanks," Naruto replied. Naruto left Gaara and was on his way home. Sasuke followed, glad he was finally away from the redhead. Sasuke didn't even bothered hiding the fact that he was jealous; he knew he would do anything to take Gaara's place and be around to comfort Naruto.

It wasn't going to happen though, Sasuke reminded himself quickly. Flying overhead Sasuke noticed that Naruto was being followed. With no way to warn Naruto, he decided to keep an eye out. Unfortunately, it looked like Naruto wasn't going straight home. He was taking the same route he did every night to Sasuke's grave. "Dobe, just leave it, you were here last night!" Sasuke hissed, his eyes scanning round trying to find the people who were following Naruto. He was glad to find that they had gone; perhaps Sasuke was just being paranoid.

On his way back, Sasuke found that he wasn't just being paranoid and there was someone following the blonde. Finally he spotted one of their faces and became more worried than he already was. It was the same guys from before and that meant they obviously were trying to hurt Naruto. The blonde walked down an alley and Sasuke could tell they were going to attack then. He wished that Naruto would just hurry up and get home where he would be safer.

Suddenly Naruto was tackled from behind. Naruto scrambled out from underneath his captor, only to be stopped by the other man. He had fallen right into their trap. Naruto was shoved to the floor again. "Grab his wrists and keep him down!" one of them said. Naruto's wrists were pinned above his head. No matter how much he squirmed, he couldn't break free. The other straddled the blonde's hip, effectively cutting off all means of escape for the blonde. He could hardly even move anymore. "Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked, scared of what they were going to do. The guy above Naruto unzipped the blonde's jacket and slipped his hands under Naruto's black t-shirt. "Let me go!" Naruto didn't like the feeling of the stranger's hands roaming across his chest. Sasuke was furious. How dare they handle Naruto like that? The hands moved downwards and began unzipping Naruto's orange trousers. Their intentions were clear and Sasuke was beginning to panic just as much as Naruto. "No! I don't want this!" the blonde protested.

The man holding his wrists did so with one hand and used the other to cover Naruto's mouth. "Shut up!" he snarled. "Did you really think you would get away from us after before?" he added venomously. Naruto cried out as cold hands slipped into his boxers. "Please, don't!" Sasuke felt sick. How could they even think about doing this to Naruto? He pulled off the small chain he was wearing around his neck. He knew he only had one chance at this, but Sasuke decided there was no way he could possibly sit back and watch this. Naruto cried out again.

The raven's mind was made up.


	7. Chapter 7

Rowan grabbed Sasuke's arm before he could drop the fragile glass. "Don't. Even. Think. About it." he said. Sasuke snatched his hand away.

"What the hell are you taking about?" Sasuke snarled.

"You should be thanking me, you nearly wasted that!" Rowan said angrily, pointing to the small necklace that was still intact, in Sasuke's hand. "_Wasted_? Are you fucking blind, or did you just decide not to see what's going on in front of us?" he shouted.

Rowan shrugged and for once let Sasuke's outburst slide. "Yes, I can see it. But if you decided to use that brain of yours, you would have noticed that they are not necessarily going to kill your charge, are they?" Sasuke's jaw dropped.

"So you expect me to sit here and wait?" he asked. For once, Rowan thought Sasuke actually got the point of what he was trying to say.

"Exactly. You use that when he's going to die. They aren't making any attempt to kill him, so you should save that for a real emergency." Sasuke slammed the chain to the ground. The raven felt faint for a moment.

The men looked up, noticing Sasuke. The raven was glad the men could see his wings; he didn't know if he could use chakra and the wings would add to his intimidation factor. "I-it's the Uchiha!" He spread them out threateningly. "Get off him, now!" he thundered. The men jumped away from the blonde. One step forward by Sasuke and the men ran away, obviously unnerved by Sasuke's appearance. The raven zipped Naruto's trousers up and pulled the blonde into his arms.

"You may think I wasted my chance, but I could never watch as people did _that _to my best friend. How long am I able to be like this?" he asked.

"I don't know. I just hope you realise what you've wasted." He said. Sasuke cradled Naruto to his chest and took off. Not knowing how long he had like this, he decided to get Naruto home as quickly as possible.

By the time Sasuke had taken Naruto home and placed him gently on the bed, the blonde seemed to have come to his senses. "S-Sasuke…" Sasuke wondered how on earth he was going to explain this to the blonde. Naruto gripped on to Sasuke and refused to let go. "I'm dreaming again, aren't I?" Naruto asked sadly. Sasuke let out a sigh of relief. Naruto had handed him a perfectly reasonable excuse.

"Go to sleep, dobe." Naruto pulled the raven on the bed with him, curling up against Sasuke. "I just wish that one time when I woke up, you would really be there…" Naruto fell asleep quickly, still gripping onto the raven. Suddenly, Naruto's hands fell through Sasuke and landed on the bed with a soft thud. It was obvious that was the time limit. Sasuke waited for Naruto to wake up and find he was gone.

The blonde didn't seem surprised that Sasuke wasn't there when he woke up. It was obvious that he had dreams about this a lot. He stared at the spot where his dream-Sasuke had been. He rolled over; trying to remind himself that Sasuke wasn't coming back, no matter how much it hurt when he told himself that. He wondered how he got home after those men attacked him. The last thing the blonde remembered was their horrible hands roaming all over him…then…nothing. He thought he must have blacked out of something, but that still wouldn't explain how he got home.

Naruto could tell they hadn't got round to doing anything serious to him; the blonde was sure he would remember something like _that._ Perhaps he just freaked them out by fainting, and they went away? The blonde climbed out of bed and sighed. When it came down to it, he really didn't care much. He went into the bathroom and came out considerably happier. Sasuke was slightly suspicious of this, but decided it couldn't be anything bad if Naruto was feeling better.

Sasuke walked downstairs and waited for Naruto to get dressed. He wasn't happy to find a very pissed Rowan waiting for him. "Oh, great, now what?" Sasuke groaned. Rowan simply folded his arms across his chest and glared. "Lorde-sama will not be pleased in the slightest by your actions." He hissed. "You wasted something irreplaceable that night. Did you truly believe that was the right time to use it?" Sasuke sighed. "If you mean do I regret my decision, then it's a no. I don't regret saving Naruto last night and I don't think I ever will."

Rowan simply smirked. Sasuke felt like punching it off his face. How could someone possibly stay so smug all the time? Sasuke's temper got the better of him. "Fuck you!" he snarled. "There is no way Naruto deserved to go through that. _I _know Naruto better than you, he was my best friend and _I'm _Naruto's guardian, so I know that if he had gone through that…well, there's only so much one person can take."

Sasuke felt much better after he had yelled at Rowan, but was infuriated again when he saw the same cocky smirk was still on Rowan's face. "You may have known Naruto longer, but you are hardly a competent guardian. In fact, I hardly see why you should _deserve_ to be called Naruto's guardian. In the few short times I have seen your charge, I have noticed something important that you have completely overlooked."

Sasuke wondered what Rowan meant. The raven _had _watched Naruto properly; day and night. There couldn't be something he had missed that Rowan had picked up on. "If you mean his dreams about me, I know about them. I watch him during the night too." Rowan's smirk grew.

"Oh no, its not that. I just can't believe you never knew your charge was _self-harming_." Panic flooded Sasuke. Surely he was joking? He had to be!

"I watch Naruto all the time! Your lying!" Sasuke spat. He couldn't believe Rowan would make something like this up just to make it seem like he was incompetent.

"When you picked Naruto up last night I spotted the marks on his arms. That means there must be some time in the day you don't watch him, if you really don't know about it." something clicked, and Sasuke went back upstairs and floated through the locked door, into the bathroom. He was sickened to find that Rowan was right. His eyes narrowed. "You disgust me. I can't _believe _you didn't tell me last night. I could have prevented this!" he waved his arm in the direction of the blonde who was holding a small razor over his wrist.

Knowing there was nothing he could do, Sasuke simply looked away grimacing, hoping Naruto wouldn't cut himself too deeply. Thankfully, Naruto put the razor away after two cuts. Sasuke stared at the scars under the new cuts Naruto had made. He felt disgusted that he hadn't seen those sooner. "I never followed Naruto into the bathroom; I thought he at least deserved a little privacy…but once again, I've fucked up." The raven said in a hollow voice.

"Look, you're not the most observant of all people, but it's an easy thing to miss." That was probably the nicest thing Rowan had said so far. "Shut up." Sasuke snapped. He didn't care about the slightly guilty tone in Rowan's voice; all that mattered was that he had missed something this big. "Next time I've missed something _minor_," Sasuke hissed, his voice dripping with sarcasm,

"Please take the time and _tell me_." Naruto got up and walked straight through them both, completely oblivious of how much his little display had affected Sasuke, who was feeling the strong crush of failure.

How? How could he have missed this? He had spent night after night doing nothing but watch the blonde as he slept, yet he didn't notice the marks that Rowan had picked up in one glance. "If you look at the marks, you can see they have faded, which means he hasn't done it in a while." Rowan said. "Obviously he is just doing it now to deal with the trauma of what happened last night." Sasuke's head snapped in Rowan's direction.

The brown-haired guardian seemed to have used up whatever sympathy he had. "Just watch your charge _properly _in the future. I will inform Lorde-sama that you have used your unicorn's teardrop." He was gone before Sasuke could argue with him any further. Sasuke went into Naruto's room where the blonde was almost dressed. His eyes drifted to Naruto's wrists. From now on, he would watch Naruto non-stop. There would be no way something like this would slip by him again.

A/n: sorry it took so long to post this chapter; the next one is coming very soon!


	8. Chapter 8

Since Sasuke had saved Naruto, the blonde had seemed to be getting more and more depressed. When Kiba and Sakura had come to visit the blonde, Naruto hadn't even bothered to answer the door; he had simply stayed completely quiet in his room, giving the impression he wasn't in. he spent hours staring at Sasuke's picture, his eyes clouding over.

Even though Naruto thought it was a vivid dream, Sasuke couldn't help but wish the blonde hadn't seen him. It seemed to have made Naruto worse. Then again, he had to. Like he explained to Rowan, there was no way he would sit back and watch while his friend was attacked like he was.

There was another loud knock on the door. Sasuke hoped Naruto would answer. The blonde simply sighed and ignored the sound. "Naruto?" the call came through the letterbox; it was Sakura again. If only Naruto would answer. Sakura was bound to realise he wasn't himself. Surely she, someone who could help Naruto, would notice the scars on Naruto's arms? The blonde didn't move. Eventually Sakura must have given up, because another knock didn't come. Naruto simply crawled back into bed, pulling the photo of Sasuke out again. The raven wished Naruto had never taken that photo; every time the blonde looked at it, his eyes filled with pain and…something Sasuke couldn't place.

Naruto's eyes began welling up again. "Just put it away, dobe! Every time you see it, it makes you cry. Why can't you just…forget about me? Move on!" as usual, his answer went unheard by the blonde. Naruto pushed the picture back; he didn't want his tears to ruin the photo. With Sasuke's imagine burned clearly in his mind, Naruto closed his eyes, tears still seeping through. "I can't take this anymore…" Naruto mumbled in a pained voice.

Sasuke certainly didn't like the sound of that. Naruto walked to the bathroom. Sasuke followed him closely; the last time the blonde was in the bathroom, he was cutting himself. It turned out Naruto was just having a shower. Sasuke sighed with relief, though he refused to leave the room. He couldn't afford to leave Naruto alone, considering what happened last time. He averted his eyes when the blonde pulled off his clothes and make sure his gaze didn't slip below Naruto's neck.

When Naruto finally came out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, Sasuke was horrified to find that Naruto's gaze rested on the razorblade that was sitting on the sink. "Don't…" Sasuke hissed. Naruto reached out for the blade and picked it up carefully. "Naruto, put it back!" Sasuke said, desperation seeping into his voice. Another wanting glance at the blade, Naruto placed it back and quickly walked away before he could change his mind. "Thank god…" Sasuke whispered.

As Sasuke walked into Naruto's room, he was met by Rowan. Sasuke groaned; how many times did he have to see this guy? "Lorde-sama would like to speak with you." Sasuke didn't answer. "_Immediately._" The guardian hissed. Sasuke frowned.

"I don't think so. I need to be with Naruto." was his simple answer.

Rowan, as usual, was furious. "No-one, especially _you_, has the right to say 'I don't think so' in accordance to an order from Lorde-sama!" Sasuke shrugged. He wasn't in the mood for Rowan right now, not that he ever was. "Well, tell Lorde-_sama _I need to be with my Naruto." Rowan quirked an eyebrow at this.

"_Your_ Naruto?" he asked, smirking. Sasuke realized his mistake.

"I meant Naruto. I need to stay with Naruto!" Rowan's expression didn't change, and Sasuke was feeling more embarrassed by the second. "Argh, you're confusing me!" it wasn't usual for Sasuke to admit he was confused. "As insolent as always, Uchiha!" Rowan snapped.

Any amusement of Sasuke's previous comment had completely dried up. "Do you think Lorde-sama would leave a charge unattended? I am to fill in meanwhile, while you go back to the court." Sasuke threw Rowan his angriest glare yet. "Leave Naruto? With you?" he snarled.

"You know how to get to Lorde-sama. Now go." That was his final word, and Rowan gestured to the window. "Fine, but just tell me when I get back if Naruto touched that razor. Or if anything changes. Or if he looks at my picture again, or-"

Sasuke was shoved out the window; he instantly floated through the frame and glass. Before he could hit the ground, his wings unfurled at he took flight quickly. Deciding that going back and having an argument with Rowan would be a waste of time; Sasuke went to meet with Lorde.

The raven walked up the white corridor. It was exactly the same as it was the last time he was here; blinding white. He quickly walked up to the desk. "You called?" he asked urgently. He needed to get back to Naruto quickly. "Lorde-sama." He added quickly. The man nodded. "Rowan informs me you have already used your unicorn's tear. Is this correct?"

Sasuke nodded, not quite knowing what to say. The man nodded once again, writing something in small, almost illegible writing to Sasuke, on a piece of paper. He placed it in a drawer on his desk. "I believe I did not make its importance clear enough? You realise, do you not, that it was once chance, which you now have used up?"

"I realise it was important, and Rowan has said it could only be used once. Naruto, my charge, was in danger. Did I do wrong by saving him, Lorde-sama?" he asked. The man studied Sasuke for a moment. "Very well." His words seemed very final; he looked down and began writing again. He looked up again; almost surprised Sasuke was still there.

Sasuke noticed this. "Was- was that all?" he asked. Judging by the amount of times Rowan went on, he thought Lorde would have been more bothered. "N-no, I was wondering…why am I still watching Naruto, even though I can't help him at all?" Lorde stopped his writing and placed his pen down. He once again looked up at Sasuke. "You are a guardian, and you have been given a charge. Guardians watch their charges until the charges themselves, die."

Sasuke didn't want to think about his charge dying. "If…if they did die?" he asked. Sasuke's curiosity was getting the better of him. "A new charge will be assigned, or you would become a stand in, like Rowan." Sasuke didn't reply to this. He kept his cool demeanour, but inside, he was seething. He couldn't even think about watching over someone who was not Naruto. "Stand in?"

"Depending on the situation, I will decide which you should become. Rowan merely takes over when the charges true guardian is unavailable, for any circumstance. Like now, for example." He said. Sasuke nodded in understandment. Sasuke decided to leave before he got angrier about having to watch someone new in the future.

Then again, he was sure Naruto wouldn't be dying any time soon, so he had no need to worry about it at the moment. He hurried back, wondering how Naruto would be, left alone with Rowan. Thinking of Rowan…Lorde had said guardians could only become a stand in once their charge has died. Does that mean Rowan once had a charge that died? Sasuke decided to ask him about that when he got back; Rowan always made himself seem so perfect, and that everything the raven did would be wrong, yet his own charge died? Sasuke smiled.

He finally had something he could throw back in Rowan's smarmy, superior smirk, when he decided to bring up yet again fault of the ravens.

When Sasuke got back, he demanded a full report on what happened when he left. Rowan met him with a bored stare. "Lets see, he got dressed, then sat on the bed crying over your picture." This didn't surprise Sasuke.

"Anything else?" he asked. Rowan nodded.

"Four times he's gone into the bathroom, picked up this razorblade, and then put it back." Sasuke was instantly filled with worry. "He didn't- he didn't hurt himself did he?" he asked quickly. Rowan seemed slightly taken aback by the amount of concern in Sasuke's voice.

"No, he put it down almost as soon as picking it up each time." He said. Sasuke nodded. He was glad Naruto understood that hurting himself wasn't the answer, and was obviously desperately trying to stop himself. "That's good…right?" Sasuke added at the strange look on Rowan's face. "What?" he snapped angrily.

"He's getting more and more upset, Uchiha." Sasuke watched as the distraught blonde curled up tighter on the bed.

"I know, but there's nothing I can do about it, is there? Lorde-sama already told me that basically I watch until Naruto dies." He said glumly.

"I'm going now." Rowan announced. Sasuke watched as he disappeared through the wall. Sasuke watched as Naruto slipped off the bed. The blonde pulled a pad and a pen from a drawer, sat back down, and began writing something. Sasuke climbed on the bed and knelt behind Naruto, watching everything he wrote. After the blonde had written the second line, his intentions were clear. Sasuke watched in horror as Naruto carried on writing.

"Oh…god, no!"


	9. Chapter 9

Sasuke could hardly move with fear. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. "Rowan!" he shouted desperately. The other guardian must have noticed the sheer panic in Sasuke's voice, and came immediately. "What?" Sasuke pointed to the note Naruto had just finished writing. Rowan leaned over and read what Naruto had written.

_To anyone who cared,_

_I'm writing this to say goodbye. You may think I was fine after Sasuke death, but that was really far from the truth. Nothing can ever be the same again, not without Sasuke. When he left the only thing that stopped me from doing this was the hope that we could bring him back. When Sasuke died, a part of me did too. Probably the part of me that could ever be happy again._

Without me there is no Kyuubi. I can make the entire village happy while ending my own pain. That's why it's much better this way. Thank you for looking out for me, despite the fact I'm a demon,

_Naruto._

Rowan looked up at Sasuke. "He's suicidal." He said simply.

"Well have you come here to state the obvious, or help?" Sasuke snapped angrily. Rowan shrugged. "In what way do you suppose I help?" he asked the raven. Naruto folded the note and put it in his pocket. He pulled Sasuke's photo from under his pillow and put that in his pocket too. The blonde climbed off the bed and went into the bathroom. Worried, Sasuke followed. Naruto picked up the razor and put that in his pocket with the letter and photo. Rowan threw Sasuke a nervous glance. "I need to tell you this, Sasuke. You need to understand it."

Sasuke tore his gaze away from Naruto and looked at Rowan. "If Naruto…" Sasuke's glare told him he didn't want to hear it. "You just have to know, there is nothing you can do to stop him." the raven gaped at Rowan. "So we just give up and watch?" he said incredulously.

"Not exactly, there is still once chance." Sasuke was filled with determination.

"Whatever it is, I'll do it!" he said quickly. Rowan shook his head.

"Like I said, there's nothing you can do. Your last hope…is that he doesn't go through with it." Sasuke was angry with this.

"That's _it_? That's _all _I can do? Sit back and _hope _Naruto doesn't kill himself?" he snapped. The other guardian didn't answer.

"Is that what got your charge killed, sitting back and hoping?" Sasuke snarled venomously. Rowan's attitude changed within seconds. "If you know what's best, you will _never _mention that again." He said in a dangerously low voice. Rowan's wings spread, and he was gone within seconds. Sasuke stared blankly at the space he had been in. whatever reaction he had expected, that wasn't it. He didn't even get the satisfaction of, for once, showing Rowan that he wasn't perfect. Naruto looked out the window, and found it was getting dark. The blonde seemed satisfied by this, as he zipped up his jacket and walked out of his house.

Sasuke flew above him, the whole while filled with a constant longing for some way to stop Naruto. By the time Naruto reached his destination, Sasuke's grave, the raven was feeling sick. He didn't want to believe this was happening. Naruto dropped down and pulled Sasuke's photo out his pocket. He stared at it for a moment, before pulling out the razorblade. Naruto glanced at the picture once more, then his gaze fell on the razorblade in his hand. "I'll be with you soon, Sasuke." The blonde mumbled. Sasuke couldn't even remember the last time he cried, but now he couldn't stop the tears that were flowing down his face if he wanted to.

It was then Rowan appeared by his side. "Come to gloat?" Sasuke snapped. Rowan was surprised to find Sasuke crying.

"No, I haven't." Rowan stared at Naruto, who seemed to be thinking about something, the blade poised over his wrist. "He's really going through with it then." Rowan said quietly. Sasuke shook his head, more tears seeping out. "This can't be happening!" Rowan stayed quiet. "I can't…I can't lose him, I-I love him!" Sasuke blurted out.

"Technically, you've already lost him. I mean, your dead, so it's not like you could ever be with him." Rowan obviously didn't know the meaning of tact at that moment.

Naruto gripped tighter on the blade; he was obviously planning on getting things over with now. Sasuke looked away and bit his lip, his tears flowing faster than before. He couldn't bear to watch. "Sasuke," the raven was surprised to find his first name come from Rowan. He looked up. "Here." Rowan said quietly. Sasuke stared at what Rowan was trying to give him. It looked like the necklace he had once used to help Naruto. "Hurry up, you don't have much time." Sasuke had so many questions to ask at that moment, but Rowan was right; time was against him. Sasuke quickly took it and dropped it to the ground.

Ignoring the similar dizzy feeling he got last time, Sasuke dived at Naruto and wrenched the razor away from Naruto and pinned him down. "Dobe, what the _hell _do you think you were doing?" he shouted. Naruto stared at Sasuke's tear-streaked face.

"Sasuke…" he said softly. Naruto reached out for where Sasuke had thrown the razor. The raven held Naruto's wrists down with more force. "Don't you dare touch that thing ever again!" he hissed. Naruto looked up, admiring Sasuke's large black wings.

"I thought angels would have white wings…" Naruto mumbled. Sasuke groaned.

"Naruto, don't talk about stupid things like that! Just promise me you wont ever, ever, hurt yourself again."

Naruto smiled up at Sasuke. "This is my hallucination!" Naruto said in a teasing voice. "You should have white wings!" Sasuke shouted the blonde's name loudly; Naruto just didn't understand how serious the situation was. " This isn't a halluci- erm…Naruto, just please don't ever try and kill yourself again. Its not what I would have wanted, and certainly not what a gave up my life for!" Naruto ignored this.

"I just want this to end, Sasuke. These delusions, all the pain, I just want it to stop." Sasuke relaxed his grip on Naruto. "All that will go just give it time." Sasuke said gently. "Please Naruto. I just need you to promise me you wont try this again. If you ever cared about me, surely you'll do this one last thing?" he begged.

"Of course I care!" Naruto said quickly.

"Then…"

"I promise. I wont try and kill myself again." Sasuke sighed with relief and let Naruto go. Just for good measure, Sasuke picked up the blade and threw it as far as he could. He then felt something touch his wing. It felt strange; no one had ever touched him there before. Naruto ran his fingers over the soft black feathers. Sasuke had a sudden urge to kiss Naruto. He leaned forward, but his time had already ended. Naruto reached out as Sasuke faded from sight; his hand caught nothing but thin air. Naruto sighed and knelt by the grave again and placed his palm over the stone.

"I promise…" Naruto whispered. Sasuke turned to face Rowan. "Where did you get that? I thought each guardian was only allowed one each, and that's why they're so special?"

"That's right. I…gave you mine." Sasuke stared at Rowan.

"You went on and on how important those things were, yet you gave up yours for a charge that wasn't even your own? That you didn't even have a connection with?" Rowan had a strange look on his face.

"You just reminded me…of myself." Now Sasuke wanted to know everything. "Why?" he asked.

"When I died, my first charge was my boyfriend. Daniel. He reacted just the same as him when I died." He gestured to Naruto.

X flashback X 

Rowan watched helplessly as his charge walked to the edge of the cliff. "Dan?" he wasn't heard. "Dan, what the hell are you doing?" Rowan asked shakily. As usual, like the past month he had been watching over Daniel, he got no answer.

"I need you so much, Rowan." The brown-haired guardian watched sadly as his boyfriend unclasped his hand and stared at the small object in his palm. "I had no idea you were going to propose to me…" Rowan stepped closer to Daniel as his boyfriend placed the ring on his finger. "I would have said yes." He mumbled. Rowan forced back tears that welled up in his eyes. One more step, and Daniel was gone. "W-what? Dan!" Rowan dived off the cliff after his lover.

X end flashback X

Sasuke gaped as Rowan finished explaining. "…I didn't even have the chance to save him, he just jumped so quickly." The raven's respect for Rowan rose considerably; at least he had some kind of excuse for being so cold.

He felt slightly guilty for what he said before about Rowan losing his charge. "Thank you." Rowan just nodded.

"You better keep an eye on him, Uchiha, otherwise Lorde-sama will be displeased." Rowan pointed to Naruto who was already walking away from the grave with Sasuke's photo in his hand. Sasuke couldn't help but smile when he turned away from Rowan. He found it amusing the way he snapped straight back to his annoying self, constantly mentioning Lorde, and how he mattered most. The raven followed Naruto home, for once glad he had called Rowan. A thought he had been suppressing for a long time refused to stay back.

He turned back to Rowan; he could catch up to Naruto later as his flying would get him there quickly, and Naruto always took the same route home. "Rowan-" Sasuke sighed. He hated it when Rowan disappeared all the time, and it always seemed to be when he had something important to say.

He quickly caught up with Naruto, who hadn't got far since Sasuke had turned back to talk to Rowan. Sasuke decided he would talk to Rowan tomorrow; after everything he had done to help save Naruto's life, it would be rude to keep on pestering him. Flying just above, Sasuke glanced at Naruto's face. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this before.

Tomorrow, everything could change.


	10. Chapter 10

Sasuke couldn't help but stare at Naruto's sleeping face. He looked so different when he slept. Peaceful. Sasuke remembered what he had said the other night, about loving Naruto. At the time, it had just blurted out all at once. Now he couldn't believe he had admitted it in front of Rowan. Suddenly all his feelings towards Naruto were becoming clearer. When he left Konoha, he wasn't thinking about anyone or anything but Naruto. The thought of leaving the blonde hurt more than the fact he had become a total disgrace to the image his family had honoured so highly. Then, when he was watching Naruto, there was the overwhelming jealously he felt when Naruto was around Gaara.

Finally, Sasuke knew this was probably the reason why he gave his own life for Naruto and couldn't honestly say that he didn't regret it at all. Sasuke wondered if Naruto could possibly have the same feelings. After all, they weren't even that close when Sasuke was in Konoha. If Naruto did feel the same, it would explain the way Naruto dedicated himself to bringing Sasuke home, despite the amount of times the raven nearly killed Naruto. The way Naruto reacted when he died. The blonde had always been a sensitive person, Sasuke knew that, but he had to wonder if Naruto would react quite so badly to the death of one of his other friends, say…Kiba, Neji or Sakura. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the fact Naruto had a picture of him under his pillow. That Naruto had secretly taken that photo, a long time ago.

That left Sasuke wondering how long Naruto had kept that photo under his pillow. Judging by when it had been taken, it could even have been before he left, before he died, which would surely mean Naruto liked him more than a friend? Sasuke was filled with excitement at the prospect that Naruto could feel the same way. Naruto mumbled something that, much to the raven's delight, sounded like 'Sasuke', and rolled over. That seemed to make Sasuke's mind up. "Rowan." he couldn't wait any longer; he had to speak with Rowan now. He called for the guardian again, but this time much louder. The slightly flustered guardian appeared by his side. "What?" he snapped. Sasuke asked what was wrong with Rowan. "Well, I do have other charges, you know! What is it this time?" he asked quickly.

"I was thinking about talking to Lorde about-"

"Lorde-_sama_." Rowan predictably interjected. Sasuke sighed. That was getting annoying. "I was thinking about talking to Lorde-_sama _about…Naruto." Rowan groaned. "I'm not your babysitter, Uchiha. If you want to see Lorde-sama I'm sure you can go without me holding your hand."

"Its not that!" Sasuke said indignantly. "Besides, I've been there alone before." He added. Rowan simply folded his arms across his chest. "Then why are you wasting my time?" he drawled.

"I just wanted to know, is there a possibility I could ever come back to life?" he asked, glancing at Naruto.

"Don't even go there." Was Rowan's answer. Sasuke frowned; Rowan didn't seem at all surprised by this, almost like he was expecting it. "Yes, Uchiha, I knew you would say something along those lines sooner or later," Rowan said, correctly reading Sasuke's expression. "Its because everyone does." Sasuke thought for a moment.

"I wasn't asking that, I just wanted to know, is there a way? _Any _way?" he asked, getting slightly desperate. Rowan tilted his head slightly, wondering exactly how much he should tell the raven. "If you want the truth, then yes. There is a way." Sasuke's expression completely changed, hope filling him.

"Don't look at me like that, _I_ don't have the power to do that. The only person who would have that power would be-"

"Let me guess," Sasuke grumbled. "Lorde-sama?" Rowan nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. He would have knowledge of something as complex as this." Sasuke opened his mouth again, but Rowan quickly cut him off. "I myself have asked for this. When Dan was alive, it was all I wanted. Lorde-sama refused, of course. I suppose I was rather foolish to expect to be worthy of getting something as…" Rowan trailed off, not quite knowing what to say. "Well, Lorde-sama explained a second chance in life is something that can only be earned by doing something particularly exceptional."

"It wasn't foolish of you." Sasuke said quietly. Rowan looked up questioningly. "Wanting to be with someone you love, I mean. Wanting to go back for that reason." There was an awkward silence between them. Rowan was the first to speak. "Well, think about this. Do you truly believe that if _I_ was refused the chance, you will have it handed to you?" he said with a smirk, before disappearing. Sasuke glared at the spot Rowan had been standing in seconds ago. He had to admit, Rowan had a point. Rowan was extremely loyal to Lorde, and had probably served him well for…years. Sasuke sighed sadly.

Rowan was right. He hadn't even saved _one _charge without needing the help of another guardian. There was no way he would even be considered. Another glance at Naruto and what Rowan said seemed insignificant. Now he _knew _there was a way to get back to Naruto, there was no way he would give up. Any desire Rowan had for becoming a living human again probably died with his lover. Naruto, however, was still alive, and Sasuke was determined that he would get back to his blonde. He needed to let Naruto know how he felt.

"Rowan!" Sasuke waited for about two minutes. Another minute later, there was still no sign of the brown-haired guardian. "Rowan!" he hollered.

"What is your problem? What could it possibly be now?" Rowan shouted angrily. Sasuke rudely pointed at him, filled with enthusiasm. "You're a stand-in right?" Rowan simply nodded. "Right, there's Naruto." Sasuke pointed to the bed. "I'm leaving!" he announced. Sasuke spread his wings and was gone before Rowan could even open his mouth.

Sasuke hurried down the white corridor. He squinted as he walked to the desk. It could be his imagination, but every time he came here it seemed to be more blinding. Forgetting all respect he should have for the elder angel, Sasuke jumped right in and announced his intentions. "Rowan informed me there is a way to get back to life. I want to go back to Naruto!" Sasuke was met with a silence, which quickly ate away at the large amount of confidence he had charged in with. The raven cleared his throat wondering if, despite the loud voice he had used, he had actually been heard.

"Erm…didn't you…hear me?" he mumbled. Lorde tore his eyes away from the papers he had been writing on. "Your still here?" he asked lightly. Sasuke groaned; why did this man have to be so…weird? "Yes, Lorde-sama, I said-"

"Oh, I heard you perfectly well, Sasuke. My hearing is just as good as it used to be!" he informed the raven with a smile. "I do not know what business Rowan would have informing you of this, as it usually only causes more problems. However, I am sure he did explain that this is a rare privilege. The last time I returned someone to the human world was," he paused. "Almost two hundred years ago. And that was a very unique situation."

"I know. Rowan told me you have to do something really special to deserve it, but I just can't keep doing this! In fact, I refuse to do this!" Lorde seemed mildly interested at this. "Oh?" Sasuke couldn't believe how calm that man could be while he was so frustrated. "I can't keep going on without Naruto! It hurts so much to watch him, every day, knowing I can never be with him!" Sasuke took a deep breath and calmed down slightly. "Lorde-sama, isn't your objective to do what is best for the charges? What is best for Naruto?" he asked. The man nodded.

"Of course. I know Naruto was close to you, despite your…absence in his life. Through the betrayal, Naruto forgave you. Through death, he found his life hard to life without you. I am very aware of Naruto Uzumaki's case."

"Then _surely _me going back will help him?" Lorde finished a sentence and placed his expensive-looking pen down. He simply watched as Sasuke was enraged again. "Look, I don't care, _I need Naruto_!" Sasuke didn't even bother worrying about how selfish he sounded.

"I always knew you would be a problem. Very well, you may go back if you wish." Sasuke gaped. "W-what? Just like that?" he had expected to take longer in convincing Lorde how much he wanted, _needed_, this opportunity. Lorde nodded.

"I believe you should be told…" Sasuke stared at him.

"Told what?" he asked quickly.

"You are quite an interesting case yourself. First in…" he pulled out something from his desk. "Ah, yes, four hundred years." Sasuke was highly curious. Lorde placed the paper back. "You, Sasuke, were never meant to die." Several emotions flooded the raven at once. "But…that doesn't make sense!"

"It never does. Yet here you are."

"So that's why I can go back when normal guardians, like Rowan, wouldn't be allowed?" Lorde nodded.

"Yes. I can revert your destiny to the way it should have gone. Every hundred years or so, something changes and destiny does not quite go as it should. The change does not usually end with death, but in some cases, like yours, it does. I did a lot of research, Sasuke. You were never meant to sacrifice yourself for Naruto Uzumaki. In fact, he was supposed to die. You ended up saving him however, and this is how things turned out." He finished with a small smile.

"Before I send you back, you need to know, I am correcting destiny, not merely sending you back to the human world." Sasuke frowned, wondering what kind of difference there would be.

"Correcting?" he repeated slowly. Lorde nodded.

"That does mean, however, Naruto Uzumaki will die."

"W-what?"

"Despite the feelings you may have for that other boy, you two were never meant to be together in that world. When one lives, the other must die. Your destinies are tied together."

"Don't kill Naruto. I saved Naruto from Orochimaru for a reason; I value his life far more than mine. If it would kill Naruto, don't send me back." Sasuke thought for a moment. "Can't you do it any other way?" he asked. "Like, simply send me back without letting Naruto die?"

"Even if you earned that chance, there would be unforeseen repercussions in this particular case." Lorde said.

"Would these consequences hurt Naruto?"

"Oh, no physical harm would befall anyone. They would just be unpredicted changes. Anything could happen. That, I am afraid, is truly out of my control." Sasuke nodded. He didn't care what consequence would befall him, as long as Naruto would be safe and he could return and be with the blonde, it didn't matter. "Please, send me back." He asked quietly.

He was refused immediately. "Please! You already said I wasn't supposed to die, so is it really _fair _to refuse me this?" he asked. Lorde picked up his pen again.

"I am not refusing it. You may return. The result would be Naruto Uzumaki's death; the correction of your destiny. I'm am sorry Sasuke, that is all I will offer." Sasuke glared at him and shut his mouth with a 'click', trying to stop himself from saying something he knew he would regret. He gave Lorde a final cold look before storming out of the white hallway. He hardly cared how rude he looked.

Rowan was furious when Sasuke got back. He completely ignored the angry mood Sasuke was in and started yelling as soon as he saw the raven. "How dare you leave me with _your _charge without any notice whatsoever!" he snarled. "I have a very important job, Uchiha, and I can't afford to drop everything whenever you decide you want to go off somewhere! Can you imagine what would happen if I decided to leave my-" Sasuke simply walked straight past Rowan. This made the other guardian even more infuriated than he already was.

"You don't even care, do you?" he hissed. "You want to earn the right to go back, yet you just leave your charge whenever you feel like it." Sasuke suddenly felt a little bit better. He remembered Rowan saying he had asked for a chance to go back and it had been refused. "Well, for your information, I was allowed the chance to go back." He snapped back.

"You're lying." Rowan said automatically.

"No, I'm not." He said. "Lorde said I wasn't supposed to die, and if I wanted he would correct things so that I could go back." He said. Rowan stared at him sceptically.

"And you decided not to accept that amazing offer then? You thought it would be nice to stay here with me?" he said with a smirk.

"No, because if I didn't die, then Naruto would." He said.

"He made it perfectly clear we can't be together, and that he wouldn't make any exceptions at all. He said that he _could _send me back if he really wanted to, its just there would be unforeseen consequences. I was ready to accept whatever those consequences were, because Lorde said that it wouldn't hurt Naruto, yet he refused me that." Rowan nodded. Sasuke thought, for one wild moment, he was agreeing with him. "Of course Lorde would deny that! Why should you get that chance when many others wouldn't?"

"I don't care about anyone else, I care about Naruto and what this is doing to him!" he snarled. "I've already used my chance to help Naruto, yours too for that matter. He's tried to kill himself once, so what's stopping him from trying a second time?"

"You made him promise that he wouldn't."

"Yes, I did, but that doesn't take away his pain, and it certainly doesn't stop the people in the village attacking him. Those are things that can only be solved by me going back to him!" Sasuke said. "I just can't fucking believe that man has the power to help, yet he just doesn't think I deserve it enough. He's more annoying than you, and that's saying something." Sasuke added.

"Thanks." Rowan muttered.

"Can't you talk to him?" Sasuke said suddenly. "I mean, you're his favourite, so can't you just…talk him round?" Sasuke asked.

"I am not Lorde-sama's favourite. He does not favour any guardian over the other." Sasuke snorted.

"You could have fooled me!" the raven watched as Naruto began searching though his drawers for something. Sasuke's gaze went back to Rowan. "You make him out to be this fantastic person, but he is stopping me from helping Naruto be happy!" Naruto pulled something out that made Sasuke's stomach lurch. "Oh no, not again…not this soon!"

"What?" Rowan was confused at Sasuke's sudden change of tone. Sasuke pointed to Naruto, who was now pulling a sharpened kunai from a weapon pouch. The blonde stared at the kunai for a moment, before forcing himself to put it back. Sasuke turned to rowan. "How long do you think he's going to manage to put that back?" he asked quietly. Rowan didn't answer. "Watch him for me." Sasuke said.

"What?"

"I'm going back to speak to Lorde. This time, I'm not taking no for an answer!" even though he had the chance this time, strangely enough, Rowan didn't argue.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ah, Sasuke. Can't keep away I see?" Lorde said lightly. Sasuke glared at him.

"Send me back." He hissed. Lorde sighed.

"I already explained this to you Sasuke. I will correct your destiny if you wish, but-"

"Send me back, _**now**_!" Sasuke shouted, slamming his fists down on the desk in front of him, sending the usually neatly stacked papers scattering to the floor. The raven ignored the shocked gasps that sounded throughout the hallway. It was then Sasuke noticed that there were other guardians in the room. They obviously disapproved of the way sasuke was behaving. Lorde stayed completely calm. Sasuke supposed he had managed with worse; Lorde must have had to deal with some pretty difficult people in his time. "I would appreciate it if you picked those up." Sasuke quickly composed before grabbing the papers and shoving them roughly back on the desk.

"Look, I know you regard me no different to any other guardian, but would it really _hurt _to let me go back?" Sasuke asked. Lorde didn't reply, he simply began straightening the papers. Once they were in an orderly pile again, he looked up at Sasuke. "My response is the same as before, Sasuke. I cannot offer you that much." Sasuke nodded. He straightened up and folded his arms. "Fine. But I am _not _moving from here until you do send me back."

Lorde seemed slightly amused at this. "Don't patronize me, old man!" more shocked whispers came from the hallway. "If you think you can turn me into an obedient slave like Rowan, then you can think again. The _only _reason I obeyed and watched Naruto was because _I _wanted to. If you really believe I will so much as consider watching over other people, you can think twice about that too. You need to remember, I'm not Rowan. I don't think you're the most amazing thing that's ever been created. In fact, I don't even like you, sitting there in your stupid chair ruining people's lives! Aren't you supposed to be the good guy? You hold the power to make both me and Naruto happy, yet you refuse it." most of the other guardians had disappeared.

Sasuke almost smiled at that moment; he could just imagine Rowan's face if someone told him how he was talking to his precious 'Lorde-sama'. The completely calm face Lorde had was making Sasuke more and more infuriated. Didn't he feel _any _emotion? "What was that you said once? 'Remember my place'? Well I do. And guess what? Its not here!" Sasuke practically screamed these last words at Lorde. The man still seemed completely unaffected. "I meant what I said. I am not moving until you send me back." There was a moment of complete silence.

"I guess you will not be waiting long then." Sudden hope surged within the raven. "You-you mean I can go back?" he asked quickly. Lorde nodded slowly.

"There will be two conditions." He told the raven.

"Anything!" he said. Lorde pushed forward a piece of paper.

"I will need you to sign this." Sasuke stared at the paper suspiciously. "You are going to become human again. Usually I only have power over my guardians. This allows me to have power over you while you are human." Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but his question was already answered. "This is because I cannot afford to lose a guardian. On occasion, something may occur that needs all the help I have. If something happens in your lifetime, you will return, as a guardian, for as long as I need you." Sasuke frowned. "There is no need to worry Sasuke. It is highly unlikely a problem that large would happen in your lifetime. If it did, it would most likely be only once or twice. For this, you are allowed to continue your life."

He pushed forward a pen, which Sasuke took immediately. His hand paused over the paper as Lorde spoke again. "Remember there will be unforeseen repercussions that are completely beyond my control." He warned. Sasuke nodded, but hesitated again before signing the paper. "So Naruto wont die, right? Your just sending me back?" Lorde confirmed this. When Sasuke was sure this wouldn't hurt Naruto, he signed the paper. Lorde pulled back the contract. "I guess this is goodbye, Uchiha Sasuke." He said. "The final condition is that you must keep our existence hidden. Tell no one. Believe me, I shall know if you have revealed out secret."

Sasuke nodded quickly; this was completely acceptable and also something he expected Lorde would ask from him. "I shall once again repeat what I said, remember the repercussions."

"I know." Sasuke said. He wished Lorde would stop bringing it up; it was making him more nervous about what could happen when he got back. "Although you could be lucky, and nothing at all may happen." He added. This made Sasuke feel much better.

"Oh, unfortunately what happens next may be a little…uncomfortable." Lorde's smiling face jerked from view as Sasuke slipped through the floor.

"Whoa!" Sasuke was falling, and fast. Panicking, he quickly tried to use his wings to make sure he didn't fall. He didn't expect a sudden burning pain to erupt down his spine. Sasuke looked behind himself and found, in complete horror, that both his wings were on fire. Each beautiful white wing was blazing with burning flames. Sasuke knew there would be no way to break his fall now; he simply closed his eyes and braced himself, his final thoughts lingering on Naruto, and how happy his blue-eyed dobe would be to have him back.

A/n: sorry this chapter is short, but the next one will be coming very soon!

Whippasnappa.


	12. Chapter 12

Another loud knock sounded. Naruto's eyes filled with fear. He made sure his bedroom door was locked. Once he was sure he was safe, Naruto flopped back down on his bed. About an hour ago he had received a threatening letter from one of the villagers. The blonde did his best not to let the harsh words get to him, but the temptation of his razorblade was rising by the second. Naruto felt much better after he had cut himself. The blonde promised himself it would only be that one time, but as the knocks became more and more frantic, he reached into the drawer again, wondering if he should do them a favour and finish himself off right now. Naruto could almost picture the faces at the door, filled with hatred. Disgust. Complete loathing. He could also imagine their feelings if they found him dead. Happy. Relieved. _Safe_.

He knew the same people who sent the letter were the ones at his door now. Another series of desperate knocks came and Naruto pulled out the razor. "Naruto! I know your in there, its an emergency!" the razor was dropped onto the bed and Naruto scrambled out of the room. Naruto could recognise that voice anywhere. Sakura. He was worried for his teammate. She said it was an emergency, so perhaps the villagers had resorted to attacking her too? As Naruto reached for the door, it shattered into pieces. The blonde's jaw dropped as he saw Sakura's fist glowing with chakra. The chakra quickly faded away and sakura lowered her fist. "My door!" Sakura completely cast aside the fact she had smashed Naruto's door apart. "This couldn't wait! Naruto, you wont believe this, Sasuke!" she blurted out, panting slightly. Naruto's heart almost stopped at the mention of the raven. He didn't want to speak about Sasuke; it was far too painful. "You broke down my door…its called knocking!" Naruto couldn't even try to sound angry. He just didn't want to be around Sakura, not when she was speaking Sasuke's name so easily. "You didn't answer, look, its Sasuke, Naruto, he's alive!" she shouted all at once.

Naruto clenched his fists, shaking slightly.

"How _dare _you come here and say that! Do you have _any _idea how much that hurts me?" Sakura shook her head quickly.

"I wouldn't do that! I'm serious! He alive!" she said excitedly.

"Sasuke died in _my_ arms, Sakura!" Naruto knew he was going to break down in front of her. He couldn't believe his own friend would do something this spiteful. "What, is this, a dare or something?" he hissed, looking behind her for Ino or someone else. Sakura shook her head again. "Naruto. Believe me. Sasuke is in the hospital. He was found this morning just outside Konoha, it really is Sasuke, I've talked to him myself!" Naruto squashed down the hope that he could feel creeping inside him. He couldn't let himself believe this; it would only hurt more in the end.

"Sakura, please," he croaked. She grabbed him by the hand.

"Hurry up. If I don't take you to Sasuke, then I will never allow myself to be called your friend again."

Sakura pushed Naruto though the door despite Naruto's protests to be left alone. The blonde stared at the figure on the bed. "S-sasu…ke." At the mention of his name, the raven's head turned from the hokage, who he had just been speaking with, to Naruto who stumbled through the doorway. The blonde threw himself at Sasuke, burying his face in the raven's shirt, letting tears of complete relief flow. "I t-thought…t-that I would n-never see you again…S-Sasuke, I thought s-she was lying…" Sasuke pushed Naruto away from him. The blonde ignored this and cupped Sasuke's face staring into the raven's eyes intently. "Its r-really you, Sasuke!"

Naruto's hands were pushed away. He looked up at Sakura, confused. "Sakura, who _is _this?" he asked, obviously disturbed by the way Naruto grabbed him.

"S-Sasuke..." Naruto flung himself, yet again, at the raven. "I d-don't know how, b-but I'm so glad…s-so…god, S-Sasuke…" he whimpered. The raven glanced at the blonde head that was buried in his shirt again. "Is he a nut or something?" Sasuke asked, eyed Naruto worriedly. The hokage was frowning.

"Sasuke, Naruto is clearly emotional right now. Don't mess with him." Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "Look, I don't know this person." He said, pushing the blonde away again. Naruto's face was filled with hurt and confusion. "Sasuke, are you being serious?" the hokage asked. Sasuke nodded.

"I've never met him in my life! Sakura, how does he know my name?" Naruto moved forward again. "Sasuke, you can't mean that, its me, Naruto!" Sasuke looked sadly at the blonde's hurt face. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know you." He said.

"Like hell you don't, teme! I'm the reason you- argh." Naruto looked at Tsunade. "What's wrong with him? Has he been hit on the head really hard or something?" he asked.

"There nothing wrong with _me_, dobe!" Sasuke's hand flew to his mouth. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you that, it just…slipped out." Naruto turned to Sakura desperately. "This can't be happening, please, fix him!" he wailed miserably. Sakura seemed to be just as bewildered as Naruto. She turned to the hokage. "What do you think is wrong with sasuke?" she asked her.

"There is nothing wrong with me!" sasuke protested.

"Something is defiantly not right, I can say that. You say you really have no recollection of this boy at all?" sasuke shook his head. Tsunade pushed Naruto forward. "Take a good look at him." She urged. Sasuke sighed and stared at the blonde's face for a moment. His gaze went back to the hokage. "Nope." He said, in a rather final voice. The hokage thought for a moment. "I've already checked you over and I found nothing wrong…yet…you say you have no memory of Naruto, so can you explain how you died and then… appeared again?" sasuke looked completely shocked by this. "I… I didn't die!" he said.

"What _do _you remember?" she asked. "Before you woke up here, that is." she added. Sasuke thought for a moment. "I was…fighting with Orochimaru. Sakura was there, Kakashi too, and…" Naruto looked up hopefully. "…That's all I remember. Orochimaru died, right?" he asked quickly.

The hokage nodded. Sasuke was glad by this news. She sighed. "Sasuke, if you have no memory of Naruto, then you are missing some very important parts to your life. There is no way you can carry on not knowing Naruto." She sat in the chair beside sasuke. "I am guessing this memory loss is something that ties in with the reason you were able to come back. There is no need to worry; this could be temporary. If you stay around Naruto long enough, things should come back little by little." Sasuke nodded.

"What if he never remembers?" came a shaky voice. The hokage looked up at Naruto. "If he stays with you, it is highly likely he will remember _something_. That should trigger the rest. I'll…leave you two alone. Naruto, don't tell him too much at once." Naruto nodded. There was an awkward silence between them as the door clicked shut. "So…" sasuke trailed off, not quite knowing what to say.

"Sasuke, don't I even seem familiar to you?" Naruto asked.

"There's something about you that feels different, but I can't be sure." Sasuke said. "Are we related? You seemed pretty upset when you saw me."

"We were best friends…well, sort of." Sasuke sat up a little higher.

"Sort of?" he asked curiously. Naruto nodded and smiled a bit.

"Yeah. When we weren't trying to kill each other, I suppose we were friends." Sasuke was even more curious when Naruto said this. "We had a pretty strange friendship then." Naruto smiled at bit more.

"Yeah. We…we did." The already small smile slid off his face. Sasuke felt the blonde's sadness. "There no saying we wont again! I mean, Tsunade-sama said I will remember everything again."

"I hope you do." The hokage came back through the door.

"Sasuke, you are well enough to leave whenever you like." She said.

"Aren't I going to receive punishment for leaving the village and working with Orochimaru?" he asked.

The hokage didn't quite know how to respond.

"Naruto will explain that…in my eyes, you've earned the right to stay here again. You don't remember what you did, but I believe you should not be punished." She turned to Naruto. "Sasuke will be staying with you." Naruto didn't argue; he could tell by the tone of her voice it wasn't up for discussion. He just nodded. "Naruto will take you to collect some things from your home. Some villagers wanted the Uchiha compound destroyed." Sasuke looked horrified. "Fortunately for you, there was someone who never gave up on the hope you would come back to the village. Fought so fiercely, the entire compound is still as it was." Sasuke looked relieved. Although his house reminded him of Itachi, there were still the happy memories of his parents too. "Who was it?" he asked.

"Take sasuke to get his things, them take him home with you. He will be staying until I believe he remembers enough to trigger the rest." Naruto quietly agreed. She quickly left the room, knowing what Sasuke would ask Naruto.

"Who was it, Naruto?" he asked again. The blonde sighed. He didn't look sasuke in the eye when he replied. " It was me." The raven nodded.

"Well…thank you." He said. "We…we really were close then?" He asked. Naruto refused to look at Sasuke.

"Sasuke. Lets go."


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto couldn't believe that out of all the people Sasuke knew, _he _would be the one the raven had forgotten. It hurt, knowing that everything they had been through, was literally nothing to Sasuke. He didn't even know and the blonde was beginning to doubt if he would ever remember. The blonde glanced at Sasuke. The raven had been pressing him for information about the things he couldn't remember. "Sasuke, not now!" He hissed. Obviously no matter what happened they would always argue. Sasuke huffed. "Well, dobe, I want to know! It is_ my _life here!" he snapped. The raven groaned.

"I'm sorry. That's the second time I called you that." much to Sasuke's surprise, this made Naruto smile. "Don't apologize. Calling me that is actually progress, I suppose." Sasuke frowned. This is exactly the kind of thing he wanted to know about. Like, why Naruto wouldn't mind being insulted, and call it progress!

"At least explain some things then. Don't you want me to remember?" Sasuke asked. Naruto sighed. "I don't want to tell you too much." He said. "Besides, I wouldn't even know where to start." He added. Sasuke thought for a moment.

"Well…I want to know why you were crying when you saw me. And why everyone thinks I died! You yourself were crying and saying you thought you were never going to see me again. What happened?" he asked.

"What _really _happened? You know, the bits I can't remember." Naruto didn't reply. "Look, don't you think I have the right to know about my own…" he flailed his arms slightly. "…Sort-of Death?" he finished. He calmed down when he saw that Naruto was shaking slightly. "Dobe?" Sasuke mentally berated himself. The blonde looked like he was about to cry, and all the comfort he can muster was an insult? "Sasuke, its hard for me. I…I was there when, w-when…" tears slid down the blonde's face. Sasuke had a sudden urge to kiss Naruto in an attempt to make him feel better. "Holding you in my arms, when you died. It was my fault you died, too."

He finished bitterly, before walking miserably out of the room. Sasuke followed him, only to find Naruto had locked himself in his bedroom. "Dobe- I mean…Naruto? Please open the door?" he asked gently.

"Don't you hate me now, Sasuke?" came the small voice from inside.

"Tell me what happened exactly. How is it your fault? I find it hard to believe you would be the cause of my death." The door opened at this.

"I was helping you fight Orochimaru, and then…" the blonde took a deep breath. "Orochimaru tried to stab me, but you jumped in the way a-and…"

"I died." Sasuke finished. Naruto nodded quickly; glad he wouldn't actually have to say it.

"Then my death is my fault, not yours!" Sasuke said. Naruto shook his head. "All I ever do is getting in the way. If I had just…" suddenly something clicked inside Naruto's head and the door was slammed again. This time the blonde didn't think to lock the door and Sasuke came in. The raven sat on the bed and pulled Naruto onto his lap. "What was that all of a sudden?" he asked. Naruto shook his head and buried his face in Sasuke's shirt, just like he had at the hospital. This time, however, the raven didn't mind at all. In fact, he was rather disappointed when the blonde pulled away.

"Perhaps if I had just died the _first _time you sacrificed yourself for me, this wouldn't have happened." Sasuke was confused. Naruto quickly read his expression. "When we were younger, you jumped in front of an enemy's attack to save me. I thought you had died for a moment then." Naruto thought Sasuke would hate him more, but to the blonde's surprise, Sasuke smiled. "You must really be someone special to me! I mean, I already like you. And I don't have any memories of you at all." Naruto frowned.

"I wonder if the _real _Sasuke would think that way." Naruto muttered.

"I am the real Sasuke, just…"

"…You don't remember a single thing about me." Naruto finished sadly. The blonde sighed. "Look, I'm really tired. Your bedroom is down the hall, yeah?" Sasuke nodded and reluctantly left Naruto. He knew he probably wouldn't get to sleep for a while, but Naruto seemed to want to be alone for a bit.

"S-Sasuke!" the raven's head shot up. Perhaps he had dreamt it, bit he could have sworn he heard Naruto's voice calling him in a panicked state. "Sasuke! N-no, please!" there was no mistaking it this time. Sasuke jumped out of bed and dashed into the blonde's room. Naruto was thrashing about wildly in his sleep. He was obviously having a nightmare. "Don't die, not b-because of me, please…Sasuke!" Naruto's eyes shot open just as Sasuke was about to touch him.

"You were having a bad dream." He said quietly. Naruto just sat up, shaking. "Are you…going to be okay?" Sasuke asked. Really, all he wanted to do was jump in the bed with the blonde and hold him, but that probably was not what Naruto wanted. As Sasuke turned to leave, he felt something grab his arm.

"Please, don't go!" Naruto whimpered, his eyes swimming with fear. "C-could you…I mean…" Naruto trailed off. "N-never mind. Goodnight, Sasuke. I'm s-sorry I woke you." Naruto tried, and failed, to keep his voice from wavering. "No, Naruto, what is it that you wanted?" The blonde sat up again.

"I…was going to ask if you could do that thing you did…like before…but…" Naruto was being very vague, but Sasuke had a hopeful guess at what the blonde was trying to ask for. He slipped into the bed next to the blonde and wrapped his arms around Naruto. Naruto sighed happily, breathing in Sasuke's unique smell. At least that was still the same, and if Naruto closed him eyes for a moment he couldn't almost imagine the real Sasuke holding him.

"Thanks…" the blonde muttered. Naruto had stopped quivering the moment Sasuke had touched him. Sasuke's heart was fluttering madly. He liked having Naruto this close, and the fact that Naruto _asked _to be held like this… he forced all the oncoming thoughts out of his head.

Why was he feeling like this? Perhaps he was just overwhelmed by the feeling to help Naruto, but the raven couldn't help but wonder if it was something more.


	14. Chapter 14

When Sasuke woke up the next morning and opened his eyes the first thing he saw was a blur of blonde pressed against his chest. When he woke up enough to realize it was Naruto, he smiled. Blue eyes suddenly stared into black and Naruto flushed, realising their position. Embarrassed he untangled his legs from Sasuke's and slid out of the bed.

"I'm sorry about that, I tend to move a bit when I'm asleep." He muttered. Sasuke felt a twinge of annoyance at Naruto's apology. He was certainly not sorry they had woken up like that! He decided that wouldn't be the best think to say to Naruto, not if he wanted their friendship to cut short, and fast, anyway. Sasuke settled for a quick, "It doesn't matter,"

"I was thinking, shouldn't I meet some of the other people I used to know? Perhaps they could help get my memories back." Sasuke was suddenly desperate to be the Sasuke Naruto wanted him to be. The one Naruto cried over, dreamed about, was close with.

Naruto shook his head and mumbled around a mouthful of ramen, which was the blonde's choice for breakfast. "That's 'ot a good idea." Naruto swallowed the particularly large mouthful before continuing. "Everyone thinks your dead, so perhaps you should know the explanation yourself before others ask for it." the blonde said. This made perfect sense to the raven.

"Yeah, I suppose." He watched as Naruto gorged himself on the ramen. "Ichi…raku." He mumbled quietly. Naruto looked up. "You go there at lot, right?" Naruto nodded but suddenly stopped.

"I don't remember telling you that, Sasuke!" he said excitedly. "Did you remember that?" he asked. Sasuke smiled.

"I think I did!" Naruto leapt out of his seat and hugged Sasuke happily. Sasuke's reply was 'Haku'. Naruto pulled away and beamed at the raven. "Yeah, he's the one you saved me from! Anything else?" Naruto asked happily.

Sasuke thought for a moment then shook his head. Naruto looked slightly dejected for a moment, but sat down again. "Don't worry, that was just the beginning. It will all be back soon enough." He told the raven. Sasuke watched as Naruto ate his ramen. Was there more? The simple answer was yes. There was more, but he didn't think telling Naruto of the feelings swirling up inside him to be a good idea.

Suddenly everything seemed to make sense to Sasuke. The reason Naruto was so devastated. The way he and Naruto were so close. "No wonder you were so upset when I forgot you." Sasuke knew the reason why he had been feeling all this. Naruto looked up. Sasuke advanced on Naruto and kissed the surprised blonde.

Ignoring that fact he tasted like ramen, Sasuke kissed him harder. Naruto pulled away frantically and sent the chair he was sitting on toppling backwards forcing Sasuke to land on top of him. "I know, Naruto. I know why. All these feelings made no sense at first, but now it makes sense!" Sasuke kissed the blonde again. Naruto turned his head to the side, trying to get away from Sasuke's persistent mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing?" the blonde screeched, trying to get away from Sasuke, who had pinned the blonde to the floor with such a force Naruto couldn't break free. "We were lovers, weren't we?" Sasuke asked softly. "That's why I'm feeling this way. That's why you were so upset over me when you thought I'd died."

"Sasuke, we were _not _lovers so get your filthy, perverted hands off me!" Naruto snarled. Shocked, Sasuke let go of Naruto who quickly shot from beneath Sasuke. Naruto, who was panting slightly, looked back at Sasuke.

"I don't know who you are, but I know that _my _Sasuke would never be so…so…disgusting!" the raven stood up angrily. "That's my point! 'Your' Sasuke! I know what these feelings are, Naruto, and you don't even realise the signs you keep giving me!"

"This is because of last night, isn't it? Look, that wasn't anything more than it actually was. I had just had a nightm-"

"Its not just that!" Sasuke interrupted loudly. "The way we are…the fact that I am so special to you…the _longing _tone in your voice and in your eyes when you talk about the me!"

"I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about my- the Sasuke I used to know! You, on the other hand, are nothing like him! And he was my best friend, nothing more!" Naruto shouted. "Your sick! I would never think of you, or Sasuke, or whatever, in _that _way. He was like a brother to me!"

Naruto ran up to his room and Sasuke heard the door slam from downstairs. Sasuke stood rooted to the spot. He had been so sure. Sasuke shook his head. He knew what he felt, and he knew there was _defiantly _something the self with memories hadn't told Naruto.


	15. Chapter 15

"Naruto?" the blonde had completely refused to speak to Sasuke. "Naruto?" it took all Sasuke's persuasion skills to actually get the blonde out of his room. "Naruto?" the raven called yet again. The blonde flinched and moved away when Sasuke got too close. Sasuke stared at Naruto with a hurt look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked. Naruto glared at the raven. "I wouldn't want you _molesting _me again, would I?" he hissed. Sasuke sighed. "I didn't molest you. It was one kiss dobe." Hearing Sasuke dismiss it so easily like it was nothing out of the ordinary simply made Naruto angrier than he already was. "Don't call me dobe! You don't have the right to call me that, only Sasuke can!" Naruto shouted. The raven couldn't even stop from snapping back at the blonde. "And who do you think I am, _dobe_."

"Your not him!" Naruto screamed.

"Don't you think I want to be?" Sasuke snarled back. Naruto frowned, not knowing what Sasuke meant. "I'm trying to remember things, really I am." Sasuke added quietly Naruto forced himself to calm down. "What…did you mean by that?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sighed. "You talk about 'your Sasuke' like he's this amazing person." Sasuke looked up at Naruto. "In fact, it obvious he is. He saved your life… and you two were so close…its just, you like this part of me that I can't even remember. I know how much you want me to be that person." Naruto didn't know how to respond to that. "Look, I'm sorry about kissing you. I wont do it again, alright?"

Naruto nodded. He had never liked arguing with Sasuke. "Lets just concentrate on getting your memories of me back. Then you can start letting people know that you're still alive." Sasuke was glad Naruto didn't let the kiss come between them and nodded quickly. "Is there anything else you want to tell me, that might help me remember?" Sasuke asked. Naruto thought for a moment.

"Like baa-chan said, I don't want to tell you too much. It would be better if you could remember it on your own." He paused again, something dawning on him. "If we could get there without being seen, there is somewhere I want to take you." Naruto said.

After a lot of sneaking around and avoiding people, Naruto finally reached their destination. "Team seven training ground…" Sasuke muttered. Naruto was pleased Sasuke remembered so easily. He pointed to the middle post. "Does that seem familiar?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shook his head. "Oh, well I was tied to that. Kakashi had two bells. You, Sakura and I had to get the bells away from him. There were only two, so the person who couldn't obtain a bell had to be tied to the post." Sasuke smiled lightly.

"Obviously, I can remember things differently." Naruto was interested to know how things turned out in Sasuke's mind, yet stopped himself from asking. The objective was not to ask Sasuke about the warped sense of memory he seemed to have, but to get him to remember what really happened. Naruto sighed. "I hoped this would help you remember something…bigger." he muttered.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be working dobe." Sasuke tried to quickly apologize but Naruto, knowing the raven would apologize, quickly stopped him. "Call me that as much as you want. Between us, it's not an insult. In fact, it's more like a nickname."

"Like…teme?" Naruto's head shot up.

"Did you remember that?" Naruto asked excitedly. Sasuke nodded.

"You used to call me that a lot, right?" Naruto smiled.

"It looks like coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all, _teme_." Naruto said playfully. Sasuke smiled.

Naruto was right; when coming from the blonde's lips it didn't sound like an insult at all. "I guess not, _dobe_." Sasuke replied. Naruto suggested that they started heading back before they were caught and had some extremely difficult explaining to do. It would only take one person to recognise Sasuke and their cover would be blown. Everyone in the village would know Sasuke was alive. A sudden thought hit Sasuke. "You know that night when you were having a nightmare?" Naruto flushed at the memory, remembering begging Sasuke to stay in bed with him, then the signs Sasuke thought had been given. He wished Sasuke would stop making him think about the kiss. "Yes." He replied shortly, thinking of ways to change the subject without Sasuke noticing.

"Well, that night I felt closer to you and in the morning I remembered quite a few things. I was thinking…if we did that again, perhaps my memory might come back?" noticing they were back at the house; Naruto opened the door and walked in first. Naruto began making himself some ramen, and didn't seem to have any intention if answering Sasuke's question. "Naruto?" the blonde looked up. "Hm?"

"Did you think about what I said?" he asked. Naruto turned back to his ramen and began pouring the water into the cup. "I…I don't think that would be a good idea Sasuke." He said quietly.

He handed the cup to Sasuke. "You must be hungry. Sorry I haven't anything else other than ramen." Sasuke took the cup. He didn't want to push Naruto too far and sound desperate, but he really did believe staying with Naruto through the night had helped him remember more things, and faster. Sasuke thought carefully about what he was going to say before he spoke. "I wont get the wrong idea and kiss you again. I promised I wouldn't." Sasuke said. Naruto still seemed dubious. "It might get your memory back…" he mumbled. The prospect of seeing 'his' Sasuke again was a very tempting thought. "Sure. Its worth a try!" he said happily, starting to make himself some ramen.

That night, Naruto had been extremely nervous. It was almost like he half expected Sasuke to jump him if he fell asleep or came too close to the raven. Sasuke noticed how tense Naruto was and smirked.

Pretending to be asleep, he sighed and rolled over, pulling Naruto close to him. Naruto stiffened and squeaked. "Mmm, Naruto." he whispered in the terrified blonde's ear. Peeking an eye open, Sasuke saw the widened ones of Naruto. He couldn't take it anymore; Sasuke released Naruto and burst out laughing. "God, your face!" Sasuke laughed. Naruto pulled himself together.

"Wh-what?" Naruto still seemed to be dazed.

"Dobe. I told you I wouldn't do anything like that. Relax a bit!"

Sasuke tried to stop laughing, but couldn't. Naruto pouted and watched as Sasuke roared with laugher. He punched Sasuke lightly on the shoulder. "Teme!" he shouted angrily, but couldn't help but start laughing himself. Sasuke fell out of the bed, still chuckling. He grabbed onto something in an attempt to stop himself from falling. The thing he grabbed happened to be Naruto, and the blonde was pulled to the floor right on top of Sasuke. The raven looked up at Naruto, whose hair was slightly ruffled and cheeks slightly flushed from laughing. Their laughter quickly died as Sasuke stared deep into Naruto's blue eyes.

Sasuke knew he was filling with desire for his blonde friend. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself, even if he tried, so Sasuke gave into his desires. He gently placed his hand on the back of Naruto's neck and pulled the blonde's mouth down to meet his own. Before he could kiss Naruto, he stopped when he felt a finger press against his lips. "Please don't." the blonde murmured. The sadness swirling in Naruto's eyes was enough to snap Sasuke from his lust driven daze.

His hand slipped away from the blonde and he allowed Naruto to clamber off him awkwardly. "Naruto, I am so, so sorry." He whispered. Naruto slipped back into the bed. "I think it would be best if we slept separately." Naruto said shakily. Sasuke watched as Naruto rolled over with his back to him. "I-…sure. Are you mad?" Sasuke had to know. "No, Sasuke. Just go to bed." Sasuke slunk out the room guiltily. Once again, due to his lack of self-control, he had endangered his friendship with Naruto. He only hoped Naruto would be very forgiving in the morning.

The next morning, Sasuke found that things were worse than the night before. At exactly the same time, Naruto had come out of the shower wearing nothing but a small towel, and Sasuke had walked out of his room. Naruto stared nervously at Sasuke and walked past. Sasuke simply stood there.

He certainly hadn't missed the way Naruto's hands had darted to the towel to try and cover himself up more the moment he had spotted Sasuke. And it had hurt. Naruto would be constantly on edge now, wondering when Sasuke would jump him next. He just couldn't control himself. With a final thought in his mind, Sasuke decided to speak with Naruto. Not thinking, Sasuke opened Naruto's bedroom door and burst in. He was met with a completely dripping wet and naked Naruto.

His jaw dropped before he could stop it; his eyes gratefully taking in the sight. Naruto grabbed his boxers and furiously pulled them on. "Sasuke! You just don't know when to quit, do you?" he snarled. Sasuke closed his mouth quickly. He opened it again to speak, but shut it again. "Look, I just keep making things worse. I'm sorry for bursting in like this, but I needed to talk to you." Naruto glowered at him. "So desperately it couldn't wait?" Naruto hissed.

"No. It couldn't. Look, I think I should leave." Sasuke said. "I'm sorry for bursting in on you like that but…I'm not sorry for kissing you." Sasuke read the shocked look on Naruto's face. "No. To be honest, I'm not sorry at all. I _wanted_ it. I couldn't help it either. I think I used to really like you, because that would explain what I'm feeling right now." Naruto pulled his trousers on.

He didn't quite know how to react to this. "I don't know what to say. Really I don't! Sasuke would never want to kiss me…so I don't know why this is happening…"

"Look, think about it. I am Sasuke. I like you. Therefore the Sasuke you know must have liked you too."

"Look, I don't understand this! I-I don't want to. You're just going to have to forget this. We. Are. Friends. Nothing more, we wont ever be more. I would never think of Sasuke in that way, never! Please, can we just be friends?" Naruto asked.

"If that's what you want." Sasuke said quietly. Naruto nodded.

"Please promise me you wont kiss me…or anything like that. We just need to get your memories back."

"Friends." Sasuke promised. "Nothing more." He forced himself to say what Naruto wanted to hear. "Lets just forget about this, alright?" Naruto nodded gratefully. Sasuke left Naruto to get dressed.

When Naruto met Sasuke downstairs, the blonde was like a whole new person. Naruto seemed to have forgotten the kisses and was treating Sasuke like it had never happened. Sasuke smiled along with Naruto. Their delicate friendship meant so much to Sasuke and he knew if he kept forcing himself on Naruto when his advances were clearly unwanted, he would completely ruin what they had.

"Not ramen again, dobe. Your going to get sick eating that all the time!" Naruto laughed and waved the noodles in Sasuke's face. The raven was surprised how difficult it was to act like everything was fine between them when it clearly wasn't. He was keeping Naruto happy and breaking his own heart at the same time.


	16. Chapter 16

As days passed, they were both getting more and more frustrated, but not for the same reasons. Naruto was getting worried; Sasuke hadn't remembered anything recently. Sasuke, on the other hand, had been drilling into his head 'he doesn't want anything more that friendship,' over and over. Soon he thought he would be repeating it in his sleep like a mantra. Naruto, however, had deemed it safe and dropped his guard, completely relaxing around Sasuke once more.

Naruto completely trusted Sasuke and no longer flinched away from the raven if Sasuke spotted him getting out the shower. Sasuke noticed the blonde making ramen, which was probably Naruto's idea of a balanced breakfast. "Dobe, can't you get anything else?" he grumbled.

Sasuke wasn't really bothered about the ramen; he was just in a bad mood being unable to show his true feelings around the blonde. Naruto looked at Sasuke and thought for a moment.

"Well, I could go out and buy you something different if you really wanted." He said. "I could also find Sakura and talk to her. She's the only one who knows that your back, and that you've forgotten me. She could convince Kiba not to pop round randomly like he usually does, you know? If he sees you, he would tell everyone else. There would be some problems then." Naruto laughed, wondering how Kiba would react if he saw Sasuke now, sitting in his kitchen complaining about the food.

Sasuke agreed, glad at the prospect of something other than ramen and not having to explain things he couldn't remember rightly to the people he had betrayed.

Without Naruto around, the blonde's home became pretty boring and lonely. Sasuke couldn't believe how the atmosphere became gloomy the moment Naruto left. Naruto could light up any room. Sasuke sighed, hoping Naruto would come back soon. He wished he hadn't complained about the ramen in a futile attempt to release some suppressed anger about what was really bothering him.

The raven slouched down on the sofa, sighing again. This was probably the reason why, when Naruto got back, Sasuke had fallen asleep on the sofa. Naruto smiled as he stared at Sasuke, sprawled out on the sofa, arms dangling over the edge. He didn't think 'his' Sasuke would be caught looking so undignified. "Sasuke, come look what I got you." Naruto called, walking into the kitchen. The raven didn't move; he seemed to be in a deep sleep.

X Sasuke's dream X 

_Sasuke remembered this. He knew this was something he had forgotten. It all seemed so familiar yet…he couldn't describe it. It was a strange feeling, having his memories piece themselves together. Naruto was standing in front of him. He reached out for the blonde, but recoiled in fear. The blonde's features were rapidly changing. The beautiful blue eyes Sasuke had, not long ago, stared into changed to a blood red with black slits. The blonde was growing claws, fangs…he looked like a demon. That was all he could think of to describe this 'thing' before him. Naruto was speaking, yet he could only catch some of it. '…Break every bone in your body!' Sasuke watched as the scene played out in front of him. Naruto was attacking him. Naruto. Naruto was a demon. Kyuubi! Naruto was the Kyuubi! How could he have forgotten that his so- called friend was actually the very demon that nearly wiped out the village all those years ago? And the fact Naruto tried to kill him?'_

_X End dream X_

"Demon!" Sasuke snarled, jumping awake. His last dream about Naruto had been a memory, so this one probably was too. The blonde shot into the room, worry clear on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Sasuke jumped away from the blonde, staring at him warily. "You're a demon, aren't you?" he hissed, pointing a finger accusingly at Naruto, seeing the blonde in a whole new light. The blonde looked at Sasuke sadly. He couldn't deny that he had a demon sealed inside him. "You're the Kyuubi! I saw you in my dream, attacking me! Trying to kill me!" anger filled up inside Naruto. The blonde could tell Sasuke had seen the memory of when he had tried stopping the raven from going to Orochimaru. He didn't seem to have the whole story though.

Sasuke's theory was proven as Naruto's eyes bled a deep crimson; Naruto couldn't help that from happening when he got angry. Anger was an emotion that seemed to rouse the Kyuubi. Sasuke fled to the other side of the room. "It is true! You tried to kill me, monster!" Sasuke missed the fleeting pain that flickered in Naruto's (now blue) eyes. They quickly changed red again, reflecting Naruto's anger.

"How dare you! That was the only way of stopping you from going to Orochimaru, you traitor! I suppose your dream didn't show the part where you stabbed me with the chidori? Or the part where you were telling me you had to kill me to obtain the Mangekyo sharingan?" Sasuke simply stared at Naruto.

"Did you happen to see the part where you just left me to die? Because I would have died! It was just lucky for me Kakashi had followed us!" as things pieced themselves together in Sasuke's mind he knew everything Naruto had said was true. Then he remembered something else. Naruto, lying beneath him in the rain.

Then kissing him gently and wishing he hadn't released his curse seal. Then walking away and leaving Naruto, just like the blonde had said. when he looked up, he noticed Naruto and left the room. A loud slam told Sasuke Naruto was at least still in the house.

Sasuke knew he had always liked the blonde and now he knew for certain that his part with memories had feelings for Naruto too. This only made things harder, knowing he had promised Naruto he wouldn't touch him again. He went upstairs and knocked on Naruto's door. He always seemed to be upsetting the blonde. "Naruto? I'm sorry." Sasuke heard a snort from inside the room.

"Now you want to talk to the _demon_? Aren't you scared I'm, as you put it, planning to kill you?" Naruto hissed, in a mocking voice. The lock clicked and the door opened. "Naruto, I was being stupid. I remember what happened now." Sasuke said, walking into the room. "Feeling guilty now?" the blonde snapped. Sasuke nodded slowly.

"I don't understand. If I tried to kill you, why are you trying to turn me back into that person?" Naruto opened the door a little more.

"I don't know really. He was my best friend, he just got a little lost. I couldn't compare, the village couldn't compare, to the power Orochimaru was offering…" Naruto laughed bitterly. "I feel stupid saying this to you! You should know…" he murmured. "Naruto…I should have known that you wouldn't have hurt me. But, I have been remembering more. It wont be long before I remember you completely, then things will be back to normal."

Naruto smiled weakly. "Yeah." Naruto came out of the room and walked downstairs. "I'll show you what I brought you." He said quickly. Sasuke sadly folowed Naruto. it seemed all he could do lately was cause trouble for the blonde.

Naruto frowned at Sasuke expression. "What, you don't like onigiri? That's strange…Sasuke always did." Naruto's expression brightened. "No matter, I got some other things just incase." Naruto dug his hands in the shopping bag and produced something else. "See? How about you try this?" Sasuke let out a strange noise. "No?" Naruto looked in the bag again.

When he looked up, the chair Sasuke had been sitting on was empty. Confused, Naruto peered over the table and found Sasuke slumped on the floor. "Sasuke!" the blonde jumped over to the raven. "Sasuke? Wake up!" he said worriedly. "Nnh…feel strange." Naruto pulled Sasuke onto his lap.

"What do you mean, strange? Your scaring me, Sasuke!" the blonde bit his lip and watched as Sasuke's eyes slid in and out of focus. Naruto's worry increased when Sasuke went limp in his arms. "S-Sasuke?" Naruto panicked; he couldn't take this. It was just like last time. Sasuke couldn't leave him again, not when he was so close to getting 'his' Sasuke back. He picked up the raven and rushed him to the hokage's office.

Knocking over Tsunade's sake in his haste, Naruto placed Sasuke on the hokage's desk. "He just collapsed!" he explained, giving the hokage no time to say anything. "Help him!" the blonde wailed. The hokage nodded as she looked over Sasuke. She pulled back one of Sasuke's eyelids and took a look at Sasuke's eye. She pulled away and then watched as the raven twiched and groaned. "Do something!" Naruto wailed/

Naruto shouted, wondering why the hokage wasn't acting as fast as she should. "Naruto, I have very good news. This seems to be exactly what we were waiting for. I believe, when Sasuke wakes, he will be the Sasuke we all remember." Tsunade read Naruto's expression. "He's completely fine, I assure you. He just collapsed due to the strain his brain has of processing all the new information it is now receving." She said calmly and gently. Naruto's terror subsided.

As if to finish her sentence, the raven twictched again. "This was one of the many ways his memory could have returned. I will have a bed prepared for him, just so I can check him over once he wakes. Naruto looked up at her, his eyes shining with hope and delight.

"He's going to be my Sasuke again…"


	17. Chapter 17

Naruto's heart leapt when he felt the hand he was currently holding in his own move slightly. "Sasuke!" the raven opened his eyes, but shut them again quickly after. "Wake up, please," Naruto begged, hoping Sasuke could hear him. The raven's eyes flickered open again and rested on Naruto. "Dobe?" he murmured. A smile slid on Sasuke's face as memories collected together. Lorde, letting him come back. Falling and losing his wings.

Waking up to Naruto's face was defiantly something he wanted to get used to. Considering how blindingly white it had been in the court of angels, Sasuke was surprised to find his eyes stinging as he opened them fully. "Sasuke, please remember me, please!" Naruto whispered desperately. At hearing his name from Naruto, Sasuke forced himself to keep his eyes open. "Remember you?" Sasuke asked, confused. "Who couldn't remember someone as loud as you, baka."

This confirmed things for Naruto. Only a response like that could have come from 'his' Sasuke. No one else spoke to him like that. Naruto decided that no one had the right to speak to him like that except Sasuke. He launched himself on top of Sasuke, grabbing the raven round the middle and hugging him. "Sasuke, it was horrible, you came back and you didn't remember me!" Sasuke pulled Naruto away so he could question the blonde relieved. "What do you mean, dobe?" he asked.

"You forgot me! Everything! You remembered everything except me, Sakura, Orochimaru, Itach- well, everyone!" Sasuke told Naruto to calm down and explain again. "You were found just outside Konoha about a month ago." The blonde elaborated. When his wings had started burning, Sasuke had no longer had any control of direction. He supposed outside Konoha was where he had landed.

"You were brought back to the hospital. Sakura told me you were back and brought me to see you. When I got there…you didn't have a clue who I was. You mind had gone all weird. Everything had been altered to exclude me from you life, every single memory! Baa-chan made you live with me because she said staying around me would help trigger back your memories." Sasuke sighed with relief. This must have been the consequence Lorde-sama had forewarned him about. This meant it was all over. He was now free to be with Naruto. He smiled wider and reached out for Naruto's hand. The blonde had started crying again.

"Hey, its alright, dobe. I'm back now. That's all that matters." The blonde nodded and fell into Sasuke's arms. Sasuke smirked into Naruto's blonde hair. Everything was going exactly the way he wanted it to. He held the blonde tighter; wondering when would be the right time to admit his feelings for Naruto. "Sasuke, w-why did you…I don't understand…you died." Naruto had been meaning to ask Sasuke how he was still living, but something that seemed more important to Naruto made the blonde change his question. "Sasuke, why did you s-sacrifice yourself for me? W-why?" he asked. Sasuke decided to answer truthfully, deciding the perfect opportunity had opened up to admit the feelings he had for the blonde.

"That is something we would all like to know." Naruto's head whipped round at the familiar voice. It was Tsunade. The hokage approached Sasuke. "Feeling alright?" Sasuke nodded, cursing her terrible timing; she had just ruined the perfect moment he and Naruto had been sharing. "I trust you have a plausible explanation as to why you are still alive?" fortunately, Sasuke had already prepared an excuse. The moment he knew it would be possible to get back to Naruto, he had known his death would be difficult to lie about. He would break his agreement with Lorde if he said something like, 'I became a guardian angel, but was allowed to come back to life.' It wouldn't be too convincing either. "Yes, hokage-sama, I do." He replied as respectfully as he could.

He waited for a curt nod from the hokage until he continued. "Orochimaru placed a powerful jutsu on me that would prevent me from dying until he had full control over my body. This was merely because he couldn't stand the thought of me being in danger. He decided I was the perfect container for his soul and didn't want such a perfect 'specimen' to be damaged."

Sasuke paused and glanced at Naruto. "He believed I was truly blinded by the power he was offering. He obviously didn't expect me to betray him." the hokage's eyes narrowed.

"So, basically, you didn't sacrifice yourself for Naruto. You knew the jutsu would protect you." This was the only reason she had overlooked punishment; this fact he had been willing to die for Naruto. _Knowing_ he wouldn't die was a completely different thing when the heroic and admirable act of giving his own life for Naruto was merely giving one of probably many lives the jutsu provided. Sasuke hadn't thought of this. He knew there had been no such jutsu, but it had been the best excuse he had been able to think of that the hokage would believe.

He needed to think fast if he wanted Naruto to know that he did actually risk his life for him. Normally, he wouldn't want to sound so boastful, but he really did want Naruto to know how much he meant to him. "That's wrong." He protested calmly. He decided not to elaborate until he was asked to, buying himself more thinking time. Unfortunately, he still felt a little groggy from just waking up and the hokage seemed very impatient. "Well?" she demanded impatiently. "I didn't actually know Orochimaru had used the jutsu." He blurted out.

The lie was quickly forming on his tongue. "Orochimaru said he may use the jutsu, but he never gave any indication that he had." He found himself becoming more and more fluent as the lie mapped out in his head. "Personally, I didn't think Orochimaru would take such a gamble. He knew there was always a possibility I could betray him. Obviously he did use it, otherwise I wouldn't be here now." The hokage nodded slowly thinking about everything Sasuke had said. "In that case, I thank you." He looked up at the hokage questioningly.

"For risking yourself to save Naruto." the hokage decided that was too much praise for the Uchiha who had abandoned her 'son'. "Then again, Naruto may not have been in that situation in the first place if you hadn't left the village for Orochimaru in the first place." She added quickly. "No!" Naruto's voice interrupted the annoyed tone of the hokage's. "Don't say that. Sasuke saved me, which means he's truly sorry for leaving the village. I'm just glad he's here. That's all I want, all I ever wanted, so please don't blame him. We all make bad choices."

The blonde said quietly. Sasuke's inner self was dancing happily at what Naruto had said. Naruto's words were dripping with emotion and he was very determined to defend Sasuke. The hokage looked at Sasuke, then Naruto. Her gaze went back to Sasuke and lingered on the raven. "I suggest you start letting the village know you are back. I have other things to attend to." She informed them, walking out of the room.

Sasuke swore he heard Naruto mutter, 'yeah, like a bottle of sake.' Naruto let his head rest on Sasuke's chest and let out a contented sigh.

"I just want to know…why?" Sasuke knew what Naruto wanted to know. "Why did you sacrifice yourself for me? I thought you hated me…and now I don't know." Sasuke pulled away from Naruto and made the blonde sit on the bed in front of him. He stared in Naruto's eyes. The perfect atmosphere was creeping back into the room. "This is why," Sasuke said quietly, before pressing his lips against Naruto's gently. He took Naruto's hands in his own just before pulling away from the blonde. "I love you." Sasuke said. Naruto pulled away from Sasuke, looking horrified. The raven wondered if it had been too much too soon.

"Oh no, not you too!" the blonde moaned. Naruto backed to the other side of the room. Sasuke climbed out of the bed and immediately fell backwards. He felt far too light without his wings on his back. Just like when he had first received them, he had felt completely imbalanced. Sasuke got to his feet and steadied himself. "What do you mean, not me too?" Sasuke asked. Naruto stared at the floor.

"When you had no memories, you kept kissing me and telling me you liked me. I thought it was just part of your wacky new mind. I thought that the real you would never…" he looked up at Sasuke. "I guess I'm just going to have to tell you the same thing. Sasuke, I'm sorry but I don't like you in that way." Sasuke took a moment to take in what Naruto was saying.

He had been _so _sure Naruto had liked him back. The way the blonde had acted when Sasuke had been watching over him had confirmed the raven's thoughts, the crying, the longing, the self-harming. Were they really actions of a mourning _friend_? "B-but…" Sasuke stared at the blonde pleadingly.

He couldn't have gone through all this just to be rejected by Naruto now. "Why don't you like me in that way? Why not?" Sasuke asked. He had never had any problems like this before. Everyone seemed to fall at his feet. "Look, I don't like guys." The blonde laughed nervously. "That doesn't mean I have a problem with you, not at all. I'm just saying I don't like you in that way. I'm sorry. Can we still be friends?" Naruto asked.

Before the rational side of Sasuke's brain could kick in and accept Naruto's friendship in a last attempt to be able to be close to the blonde, the raven spoke with his heart for once and not his head. "You don't understand! I. Love. You. I _know_ I'm not unattractive, so that can't be the problem…"

"Sasuke, its not that! I just don't feel for you what you want me to. You're my best friend, nothing more." Rejection was something the raven hadn't experienced before; he wasn't liking it. "Can't you try?" he asked, a little desperate, something which the raven had never been in his life. Naruto sighed sadly at the raven. "Try and love you? Do you really want me to be with you out of _pity_? Look. I'm flattered, really I am, but no. I wont offer anything other than friendship."

Sasuke nodded numbly. Naruto looked down at his feet. This had been awkward the first time he had to tell Sasuke he didn't have feelings for him, let alone the second. He was glad he had handled the situation so calmly; this was probably because he had already dealt with this before when Sasuke couldn't remember him. "I'll see you later, Sasuke." Naruto said, breaking the silence. He walked out the room, giving Sasuke a small smile.

Sasuke sat back down on the bed. The one person he loved had just flat-out rejected him. This was unacceptable. There was no way he would allow this. If Naruto wasn't with him, then he would end up with someone else and Sasuke wouldn't be able to stand that. No one else would have his Naruto.

No one else could love Naruto the way he could, the raven was sure of that. Sasuke had quickly come to a decision; Naruto was his, and an Uchiha always got what they wanted. Sasuke would get Naruto the only way he knew how; by force.


	18. Chapter 18

Sasuke pushed forward a briefcase on the table. Naruto stared at it wonderingly. The raven had requested to meet him, and Naruto had accepted; wondering if the raven was going to perhaps apologize for yesterday. Sasuke ran his fingers over the cool leather of the case. Sasuke really had nothing else to lose now.

"Dobe, sit down." He said quietly. Naruto sat in the chair in front of the desk Sasuke was stood behind and eyed the raven nervously. Naruto looked around; he had never seen this room in Sasuke's house before. Naruto eyed the case, which Sasuke was staring at too. Naruto watched curiously as Sasuke opened the briefcase.

Sasuke smirked as Naruto's jaw dropped; the blonde's reaction was exactly as he had predicted and wanted it to be. The case was filled with money. More money than Naruto had probably ever seen in his entire life. "T-that's…that's a lot of money, Sasuke! What are you going to do with it?" Naruto asked, in awe. Sasuke chuckled.

"I think the question is; what are you going to do with this money, Naruto?" the blonde's eyes widened and fell, once again, on the money. "What exactly would you do for all this, dobe?" he asked. Naruto stared at Sasuke.

"Anything!" Naruto said. Even though this amount of money was nothing to the raven, Naruto was already forming plans in his head. He could buy a new house with that! Unlimited ramen, anything! The blonde stared at the money dreamily. Sasuke smirked. "In that case…this is yours." Naruto gaped. "In return for one thing. I believe it will be a completely fair transaction." He said.

Naruto nodded eagerly. He didn't know what Sasuke would want, but he didn't really have much he would object to giving the raven for that amount of money. Sasuke leaned forward as Naruto tried to touch the money. The case closed with a loud 'snap', which made Naruto jump and look up at Sasuke, waiting for the raven's request. "I want you to sleep with me." Naruto's eyes widened almost comically. "What?"

"You heard me. If you sleep with me, just once, all this…" he gestured to the case. "…Is yours."

"Y-you mean like, l-like, s-se-" Naruto took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Sex? With _you_?" Sasuke nodded curly, not liking how utterly disgusted the blonde looked.

"I can't believe you Sasuke. I can't believe your that _desperate_. There is no way I am going to do _that _for money. Not now, not ever." Sasuke hadn't expected this. He thought quickly. "I'll double it then." He said calmly, his voice reflecting none of his inner anger. Naruto didn't respond. "Whatever I have in here, I will double." The raven repeated. He knew it would only be a matter of seconds before Naruto agreed. After all, who could possibly turn down this amount of money?

"My god, Sasuke, Look at yourself! Your crazy to think I would ever do that! Its called dignity, good luck with finding somewhere to buy that from, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke stepped forward with a snarl. "Everyone has a price, Naruto, including you!" he growled. Naruto shook his head sadly.

"I'm never going to love you, or sleep with you for that matter. Just find someone else. They would probably pay _you _for sleeping with them."

"Don't you get it, dobe?" Sasuke snarled. "I don't want anyone else, I want you!"

"Please don't do anything like this again, Sasuke. You're not stupid. The next time I see you, I hope you've actually realised how crazy you look." Sasuke watched as Naruto walked away.

The raven couldn't believe this was happening. His final plan had failed. The last thing he could hope for was a friendship with the blonde. He jumped over the desk and shot after the blonde. "I-I was only joking." Sasuke lied quickly. Naruto stopped and turned around to face Sasuke.

"No, you weren't. I could tell." He mumbled.

"Naruto…I don't want my feelings for you to come in the way of our friendship. We can still be friends, right?" Naruto hesitated slightly before nodding.

"Of course. As long as you don't-"

"I swear I wont." Sasuke said quickly. Naruto seemed very dubious. Before, when he didn't have memories of the blonde, Sasuke had betrayed his promise not to do anything to Naruto that the blonde considered inappropriate.

Then again, this Sasuke was the Sasuke he could trust. He one he had grown up with. Naruto smiled. Sasuke smiled back at Naruto, a little forced though. "At least I got to kiss you. Just once." Sasuke said quietly.

"Technically, you kissed me about four times if you count what your other self did." Naruto said jokingly, trying to lighten the chilly atmosphere between them. Sasuke sighed, wishing he could remember the other kisses they had apparently shared. Naruto noticed that his joke hadn't lightened the mood in the slightest. "Sasuke…I know how hard it must be ignoring and suppressing your feelings, but I want to thank you for it." Sasuke looked up. "Because I really want us to be friends still." Sasuke smiled again, though it was still forced and felt more like a grimace. "I…I should go." Naruto muttered.

Even though Sasuke valued his friendship with Naruto, he knew he wouldn't, _couldn't_, give up. Sasuke had always got exactly what he wanted. As an Uchiha, he was the pride of the village. He had more money than anyone else in Konoha. If he wasn't given what he wanted, he could buy it. His father had taught him that from a very young age, and Sasuke had always remembered it. Sasuke flopped down on his bed and snorted, remembering Itachi's 'friends'.

The raven knew they weren't around Itachi because they had liked his brothers company. Sasuke had seen it. Fugaku, his father, having a heated conversation with Itachi's best 'friend', Shisui. This was around the time Itachi had been becoming more and more isolated. He became colder towards everyone, including Sasuke. The raven snorted again wondering if, at that time, Itachi was planning to ruin his life and kill the entire family.

_X flashback X _

_Fugaku placed his hand heavily on Shisiu's shoulder. "Mikoto and I have not see you recently. I trust everything is well?" he asked. Shisiu's eyes narrowed._

"_You know damn well everything isn't!" he shouted. Fugaku looked around worriedly, checking to see if anyone had heard Shisiu's raised voice. "Itachi has been under a lot of stress recently. He has been overworked, and-"_

"_That's a lie." Shisui said coldly. "Meaning no disrespect, but your son is a bloody lunatic. I refuse to be around him any longer, and I would appreciate it if you took your hand off my shoulder." He added. _

_Fugaku moved away from Shisui, his face turning slightly purple though suppressed rage. He quickly composed himself. "I accept that Itachi has changed recently, however he does not need to be alone right now. He…he could do with you being around him more." Shisui smirked at Fugaku._

"_Your scared of him, aren't you? You know as well as I do he's mad and you've lost control over him. You expect me to try and force some humanity into him." Fugaku's expression darkened. "He needs you." He growled. _

_Shisui refused again. Young Sasuke watched from the shadows. Worried, he had ventured outside to find out why he heard shouting. His father's head whipped around again, and Sasuke shrank back, remaining unseen by the two dark figures he had been watching. Satisfied no one except Shisui would hear what he said next, Fugaku spoke. "How much?" he growled._

"_Pardon?" Fugaku gave Shisui a moment to understand his proposition. _

"_My son appears to be in a dark place at the moment. I trust you to bring him back. He thinks of you as an older brother. Guide him." Sasuke watched quietly as his father pulled something from his pocket. For a wild moment, Sasuke wondered if his father was going to attack his brother's friend. _

_In the dark, Sasuke could see a small rectangular shaped book in Fugaku's hand. The book was followed by a pen. His father had obviously planned this. Fugaku began writing something and Shisiu's eyes widened. "Your going to be there for Itachi, aren't you?" he asked, ripping a piece of paper from the book and handing it to Shisui._

_The next day, Shisui had arrived at the house, smiling happily and asking for Itachi._

_X End flashback X_

Obviously his father had been much more successful. He had literally bought Shisiu's friendship for Itachi. His father got what he wanted, even if Itachi getting closer to Shisui result in Itachi killing his 'friend'. Then obtaining the Mangekyo and killing the entire Uchiha family, except Sasuke. This is why Sasuke couldn't understand why he had failed. Fugaku used bribery. He thought about another person he knew could get exactly what he wanted. Orochimaru. Ignoring the fact that one of his two leading role models was an ex-Akatsuki member and a cold-blooded killer Sasuke decided he would abandon his father's more peaceful ways and resort to the snake sannin's ways. Sheer force.

If Naruto wouldn't love him voluntarily, he would _make _Naruto love him.

A/n: Thanks for all the great reviews! I will be posting the next part very soon!


	19. Chapter 19

Sasuke was going to use a jutsu that had been invented by Orochimaru himself. The sannin was very creative when it came to luring people to him then filling them with his twisted goals. Sometimes Orochimaru blinded his victim with the offer of power, like he had done with Sasuke. Another method was to draw in the victim by lust. A clever jutsu Orochimaru had created could make anyone the sannin desired lust after him. Sasuke shuddered; thankful the lure of power had been enough for him and Orochimaru hadn't resorted to lust to obtain his latest container. He decided he would only need to make a few adjustments of his own to make it perfect to use on Naruto. Then the blonde would be his.

When Sasuke was sure the jutsu would work the way he wanted it to on Naruto, he went out to find his prize. Once he spotted the blonde talking to Sakura, he decided to conveniently walk by and catch Naruto's attention. "Hey, Sasuke!" the raven looked over to Naruto and faked surprise, as if he had only just seen Naruto. "I was just telling Sakura you were back." Naruto explained as Sasuke walked over to them both.

"Hello Sasuke-kun." Sakura said quietly. The raven stared at her.

"Hn." Sakura looked thoughtfully at Sasuke. He still seemed as cold as usual. She found it hard to believe he had risked his life to save Naruto. "Sasuke-kun, do you remember how you died?" she asked. Sasuke took a deep breath. He didn't really want to explain again; the hokage had asked him things he hadn't bargained on and the lie had formed as he had spoken.

He didn't really fancy his chances remembering exactly what he had told them. If he got something wrong, it could expose his lie as exactly what it was; a lie. Then he would have to make up something else, avoiding the truth to keep Lorde-sama happy. "It's a long story." He muttered. "Naruto, you tell her." The blonde nodded, recalling what Sasuke had said.

"Basically, Orochimaru wanted to protect his 'precious container' so he used some weird jutsu thingy that made it so Sasuke wouldn't die." It didn't sound very convincing the way Naruto had explained it, yet Sasuke supposed it would do for now. "You told Tsunade-sama about this? She was very eager to know." Sakura said. Eager was one way to put it. The hokage had been ranting to Sakura the whole time about how she didn't like or trust the Uchiha, and how she was looking forward to how Sasuke explained his miraculous return. "Yes, I told her. Naruto, I want to talk to you." Sakura didn't move.

She obviously hadn't got Sasuke's hint. "Alone." He added through gritted teeth.

"O-oh. Well, I'll tell everyone else that your back, if you like."

"That would save a lot of time." Sasuke said. "Thank you." He added. When she had left Sasuke turned to Naruto. "So, teme, what is it you want?" he asked, slightly annoyed the raven had sent Sakura away so quickly. He thought the raven would at least be happy to see her, yet Sasuke had stayed as impassive towards her as ever. Sasuke was surprised by his tone. "I only wanted to talk!" he said defensively.

"Then why did you send Sakura away?" he asked. The blonde crossed his arms and pouted. "I was going to ask her if she wanted to go on a date with me." Sasuke forced his jaw shut to stop himself from saying something he might regret later. Naruto suddenly realised what he had said. "Sasuke…I'm sorry, I mean, you-" Sasuke sneered at the blonde. "What? Now you realise that your flaunting the fact that others can have you and I can't?" the blonde looked nervously at the ground.

"I-I didn't mean…"

"To be so insensitive?" Sasuke snapped. "Or maybe you just didn't think, dobe, because you seem to be good at that!"

Sasuke turned away from the blonde and formed the hand-seals he had practiced. He did it so quickly Naruto didn't even notice. A few muttered words, then Sasuke turned around to look at the blonde triumphantly. Naruto looked slightly dazed. "W-what were we just talking about?" he asked confusedly, blinking rapidly. Sasuke smirked. "You were just saying about how you were going to ask Sakura out, even though you knew about the feelings I had for you." Sasuke said 'had'. As in, he didn't feel the same way anymore. Naruto looked at Sasuke, filling with panic. "H-had?" Sasuke had never been so close to laughing before. "Yes, _had_." He hissed, his voice filled with fake malice. "You made it perfectly obvious you weren't interested. I decided to move on, so we can be _just_ friends. Like you wanted." Naruto didn't know what to say.

"I-I yes…that's good. What I wanted. Right." Obviously the jutsu worked gradually, Sasuke decided. This could be good; he would have a little more time to play with Naruto, making the blonde think about what he had refused. "Anyway, I have things to do. I might see you tomorrow dobe." He said. As he turned, he felt Naruto grab his wrist. The blonde let go as soon as he noticed what he had done, jumping back slightly. "Yes?"

"N-nothing." Sasuke smirked again.

"There must have been something, for you to grab me like that." Naruto looked up at Sasuke and as he stared into the raven's dark eyes, he couldn't stop himself from blushing. "I was just- just thinking that, well, perhaps you wanted to do s-something?" the blonde stared at the floor. He couldn't understand why he was suddenly feeling so different around Sasuke.

"Do something? That's very vague, Naruto." he said, looking down at the blushing blonde. Sasuke smirked, liking this new development. He placed his hand gently on Naruto's chin and tilted the blonde's head up. As soon as Sasuke touched him, Naruto turned an even deeper crimson. "S-S-Sasu…"

"Dobe? Your all red, are you feeling alright?" he asked. The blonde nodded fervently and moved away from Sasuke slightly. The raven decided he would have to find more ways to make Naruto blush. Naruto seemed to have calmed down while Sasuke had been thinking. "Sorry, I have to go." He muttered. "I'll see you tomorrow." He added. Sasuke watched as Naruto hurried off. He wondered if Naruto could possibly be resisting the jutsu, or it was just taking a little while to work. The latter was confirmed later that night.

"Whoa!" Sasuke wasn't normally taken by surprise by anything, but finding the object of his desires in his house at night was an exception. "Naruto?" the blonde had slipped in through the window and was clinging onto the doorframe, fidgeting and looking around nervously. "Naruto?" Naruto's attention snapped back to Sasuke.

"What?" he asked. Sasuke looked at Naruto disbelievingly.

"What? I should be asking what! As in what the hell are you doing here?" Naruto immediately looked upset. "Are- are you mad with me?" he asked worriedly.

"What are you doing here, dobe?" he asked. Naruto looked down at his feet with the, as Sasuke named it, 'adorable blush' creeping back onto his face. "I don't actually know." He said quietly. Sasuke hid the grin that was threatening to form on his face. "You don't know why you here?" Sasuke repeated. "There must be some reason you're in my house in the middle of the night." Naruto's eyes were still darting around the room; he was desperately trying to avoid Sasuke. The blonde bit his lip and looked up at Sasuke.

"I don't understand why I'm feeling like this…I don't even know what I'm doing here…Sasuke," the blonde looked up with pleading eyes. Sasuke only just managed to contain his glee. "You're not making any sense." He said. Naruto stepped forward. "I just needed to see you." He finished. Sasuke moved closer to Naruto, knowing it would drive the blonde mad while Naruto was so desperately trying to sort out his rampant emotions. Sasuke was so close. Naruto pressed his lips against Sasuke. He pulled away from Sasuke a second later. His mouth opened in an attempt to explain himself, but Naruto could think of anything to say. Sasuke glowered at the blonde. "What the hell?" he snarled. "What kind of sick game are you playing?" Naruto still looked confused. "I tell you I love you, so you reject me. That's fine, I can handle that, but now are you deliberately trying to hurt me?" Naruto shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm just really confused. I think…I think I like you too." Naruto admitted. "Like me." Sasuke said coldly.

"What does that mean?" Naruto eyes filled with tears and he grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt. "I'm so confused, I've never felt like this before." Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blonde.

"Felt like what?" he asked. Naruto pulled away slightly and looked up at Sasuke.

"You know you said you l-…" the blonde looked down again.

"Loved you?" Sasuke supplied. Naruto nodded and then looked up again.

"I've never loved anyone before and there hasn't really been anyone who's looked past the Kyuubi so…you're the first person to actually tell me that. When you first told me I couldn't believe that you would like me…I suppose I wasn't too thrilled. But now, I really like you Sasuke." Sasuke pulled Naruto close to him. This was so Naruto couldn't see the smirk spreading across his face. "So you've never been in a relationship with anyone before?" he asked. Sasuke heard a mumbled 'no' through his shirt. He had known Naruto was a virgin, but he had presumed Naruto had at least had a girlfriend or two during the time he was with Orochimaru. He couldn't believe Naruto was so innocent, and all his.

The blonde didn't seem to be completely under his control yet and Sasuke wanted to see just how strong the jutsu was. He pulled away from Naruto. "Your probably just confused because I said I loved you. You should go home."

"Sasuke, you want me, right?" Naruto asked.

"No, Naruto, I don't. You've already rejected me and I've already got over you. Its alright, we can be friends like you wanted."

"What…what if I said I think I was wrong in rejecting you?" Naruto asked quietly. "I must have just been ignoring them, 'cos feelings like this don't just pop up suddenly." Naruto stared at Sasuke lustfully for a moment. "Can I kiss you?" the blonde asked. Sasuke moved away from Naruto. "What the hell, dobe? Can I kiss you? What kind of question is that? Look, you had your chance with me. Perhaps you should have realised these 'feelings' you say you have for me when I was _begging _for a chance with you." He snarled. Sasuke knew he was being completely cruel to the blonde, but no one rejects an Uchiha and gets away with it. "Just leave." He said coldly.

"Sasuke, I don't know why I didn't realise this earlier too, but I do like you, I do!" Naruto pleaded. "I'll repeat myself; you had your chance. Now get out." He pushed the blonde out of his room, ignoring the devastated look on Naruto's face. He shoved Naruto out and locked his bedroom door. A minute later, he heard his front door click, telling him Naruto had left.

Sasuke had followed Naruto's chakra trail back to the blonde's house. The raven noticed that Naruto wasn't going into his own room. He entered the room filled with Sasuke's things. The raven supposed this had been the room he had been staying in. he smirked as Naruto climbed into the bed. The blonde breathed deeply; he could still smell Sasuke's scent on the pillow. "Why don't you love me anymore?" the blonde asked the empty room. Sasuke watched as Naruto lay in the bed thinking. Minutes later, the blonde got up, pulled a kunai from his weapon pouch and went into the bathroom locking the door behind him. Sasuke's insides lurched. When he had been watching over Naruto, this had meant only one thing. What the hell had he been thinking taunting Naruto like that, knowing full well he was under a jutsu? He forced the window open, jumped inside, and ran straight to the bathroom. "Naruto?" Sasuke forced he not to sound panicked. At hearing his name come from the raven, the blonde dropped the kunai he had poised over his wrist and scrambled across room to open the door.

"Sasuke? W-why are you here?" he asked. The blonde waited for an answer, his eyes shining with hope. "I decided I was _perhaps _a little out of order with what I said earlier." Naruto shook his head.

"No, it's fine, I understand why you were mad. I mean, it was my fault for not getting my head together sooner. That way perhaps I would have figured out how I felt about you in the beginning. Then I wouldn't have hurt you…" his eyes trailed down guiltily. "I shouldn't have said it." Sasuke said finally. "Yes, when you rejected me it hurt, but I do still want to be with you and I'm sure you wont do anything like that again." Naruto smiled widely.

"Of course I wont!" he assured Sasuke. "You w-want to be with me?" Sasuke nodded.

"As long as you're sure and wont change your mind or something." He said.

"I wont, I'm sure about my feelings!" he said confidently. Sasuke smirked, a plan forming in his head.

"Aren't you going to prove it then?" he asked, pulling Naruto out of the bathroom doorway. Naruto looked up at Sasuke for a moment, then pressed his lips against Sasuke's. He pulled away, but Sasuke was still looking expectant. Naruto leaned in and kissed him again. The blonde felt Sasuke's tongue slip into his mouth. The raven pulled him to the bedroom the blonde had recently been in and pushed Naruto onto the bed. He began kissing Naruto again, and the blonde didn't protest until he felt Sasuke's hands travelling confidently downwards. The blonde moved his head sideways, breaking the kiss. He then pushed Sasuke's hands away. "I-I'm not sure about this, Sasuke. Don't you think were going a bit too fast?" He said. The raven ignored him and pulled off the blonde's shirt. He carried on undressing the blonde. Naruto desperately tried not to complain, but he wanted to show Sasuke he was sure about their relationship. When he felt Sasuke tug at his boxers, Naruto pushed him off. "I-I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for that yet." He said. Sasuke's lustful look turned to an accusing glare.

"What, am I not good enough for you?" he snapped. Naruto bit his lip. "N-no, its not that, I thought that maybe…could take things a little slower?" he asked tentatively. Naruto was so scared of losing Sasuke. As he watched Sasuke's expression turn to one of disgust. "Slower? Why don't we just forget this. Obviously your _not _sure." He snapped. Sasuke knew he was being unreasonable, but the jutsu was supposed to make Naruto want him! Yet the blonde lying under him was clearly having doubts. "Don't be like that, I'm just not ready!" Naruto protested, hoping Sasuke would understand. The raven couldn't believe it.

Naruto was not under his control. "Naruto, you _are_ ready." He hissed at the blonde, taking his own shirt off. He grabbed Naruto's wrists, pinning him down. "N-no! Sasuke, stop! Please don't make me!" Now the blonde was full-out protesting. It seemed the jutsu was getting weaker. Sasuke remembered he hadn't used its full power, yet he thought it would have been enough. He gripped Naruto tighter and forcefully kissed him.

The raven was suddenly thrown across the room. He looked up and was met with angry blue eyes. They were no longer shining with lust, or love for the raven. "What the hell did you do to me?" the blonde roared.


	20. Chapter 20

Sasuke looked at Naruto disbelievingly. "What?"

"You- you drugged me!" the blonde accused. "Or something, because I know whatever that was, it wasn't me!" Naruto began pulling his clothes on furiously. "What did you do?" he asked again. The jutsu had broken, and now Naruto was back to thinking normally. The raven didn't answer Naruto's question. "I can't believe you! My best friend would actually drug me, to take advantage of me!" he screamed. Sasuke wondered if he could salvage anything from this situation. "I didn't-" the furious blonde knew Sasuke was trying to deny exactly what he had done and refused to let Sasuke finish his sentence. "Bullshit! Don't you dare try and get out of this! I can remember everything! I congratulate you. It must have been something pretty powerful to get me to fawn over you like a love-sick puppy." Naruto snarled. Something in Sasuke's memory surfaced and he suddenly felt rather angry with Naruto. "You didn't need to be under a jutsu when you thought I was dead to mope around, longing for me!" Naruto's eyes narrowed.

Fortunately for Sasuke, the blonde was too enraged to notice the strange fact that Sasuke knew how depressed he had been while the raven had thought to be dead. "Jutsu? So that's it. Every person has limits Sasuke, and I've just about reached mine. I don't ever want to see you again. Get out." He tried pushing Sasuke out of his room. The raven simply lunged at the blonde, throwing him back onto the bed. "There is no way I have gone through all this just for it to end now!" Sasuke screamed. Naruto fought to get away from Sasuke. "Get off me, bastard!" Sasuke's hand closed around the blonde's throat. "It wasn't supposed to be this way! You. Are. Mine!" Sasuke snarled.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke' wrist and tried pulling the raven's hand away from his throat. "Sas-ke" Naruto whimpered; Sasuke was choking him. Bright lights were clouding his vision. The blonde felt himself getting weaker and his hand slipped away from Sasuke's. "You were supposed to love me, the way I love you!" the raven simply gripped on tighter. Naruto felt everything slipping away. He felt something wet drip on his face. Was Sasuke crying? 'I love you' the blonde mouthed up at the raven, his eyes slipping shut. Shocked, Sasuke immediately let go. He could already see finger-shaped bruises forming on Naruto's neck.

Naruto woke up to a concerned face. "S-Sakura?" he asked weakly. Naruto decided he wouldn't take again soon; his throat hurt like hell. "You've finally come round then? I'm wondering if I should heal you at all!" she scolded. Naruto looked up at her, confusion clear on his face. "Fighting! With Sasuke-kun! You two really need to grow up. I don't see how ripping chunks out of each other is anything but pointless and childish." It took a moment for everything to piece together in Naruto's mind.

"F-figh-ting?" Naruto croaked. Sakura sighed, feeling less angry at Naruto's tone.

"Oh don't sound so sorry for yourself. Here." She placed her hand gently over Naruto neck. Naruto felt the tightness disappear.

"Thank you." He said, the pain gone.

"Next time, I wont heal you. You two really need to sort things out." She warned. Naruto looked at the floor sadly. "I think I should go." He mumbled.

"Naruto?" he asked gently. "What's wrong?" she asked. He flashed her his famous fake grin, the one only Sasuke had ever seen past. "Nothing, I'm just thinking I should apologize to Sasuke. You know, for fighting." Sakura nodded in approval.

Naruto went home and let himself fall onto his bed. He pulled a small book from under his bed and began writing in it. "Naruto." the blonde's head shot up. He saw Sasuke standing in the doorway. "Get out." Naruto growled, shutting the book and dropping it on the bed. Sasuke ignored the blonde and walked into the room. Naruto jumped off the bed and backed into a corner. "Naruto, I'm not here to hurt you." Sasuke said. The blonde threw Sasuke a look that clearly told the raven he didn't sound too convincing. "I'm sorry about…"

"Strangling me?" Naruto supplied angry. "Yeah, I bet you are!" Sasuke moved forward a little more. "I really am, Naruto. I love you."

The blonde grimaced. "Don't say it! I feel sick just hearing that come from you. You don't _love _me, Sasuke. If you _loved _me you would have respected the fact that I don't like you in that way, not force me with some jutsu. If you _loved _me, you wouldn't have tried to strangle me!" Sasuke looked really guilty.

"I didn't mean to do that."

"You mean you didn't bargain on your jutsu failing, that's what. What would you have done, Sasuke, if I had stayed under the jutsu? Lived the rest of your life and ruined the rest of mine under your sick little delusion?"

"I don't think I would have carried it on forever. I just wanted you to love me, at least for a little while."

"Shut up! You wouldn't know love if it hit you in the face!" the blonde snarled. "Normal people just take rejection, get over it, find someone else, end of story. But you, you force yourself on me. You try and bribe me with _money _so I will sleep with you. That doesn't work, so you put a jutsu on me. You disgust me Sasuke."

"You love me Naruto, you have to!" Sasuke insisted.

Naruto stared at Sasuke. "Stop being so pathetic and get out. I hope you never 'love' again, for other people's sake." Sasuke shook his head and didn't leave.

"You told me you loved me! You mouthed it at me, I saw you!" Naruto glared at him.

"Refresh my memory; was this before or after you were strangling me?"

"It was just before you passed out." Sasuke mumbled, guilt filling him again.

"I said that, because I was hoping it would shock you into letting me breathe again." Naruto hissed. "You said you never wanted to see me again." The raven said, advancing on the blonde. Naruto backed away nervously. "Yes. And I mean it." he said. "I offered you friendship, Sasuke. I was willing to ignore whatever crazy feelings you think you have for me and be your friend. But now? I don't want to be anywhere near you. I can't trust you and I don't like you. Would it be too much to ask for you to just leave me alone?" Naruto tried to appeal to Sasuke's more reasonable side.

"I can't. We've been through so much Naruto, I can't walk away from you now." The blonde rolled his eyes. "Don't make it sound like I actually feel the same way about you. I don't. I'm not into guys. If you really loved me, you'd let me go, not try and force feelings that aren't there." Naruto noticed how close Sasuke was.

"I'll win back your friendship, Naruto. I can't not see you again."

"You'll be trying for a long time." Naruto said. Sasuke kissed the blonde lightly on the lips and moved away quickly. "I don't care. I wont ever give up on you." He said quietly, before walking out of the room.

It was a while before Naruto decided to move. He stayed frozen on the spot trying to understand what had just happened. He remembered how desperate Sasuke had been when he had rejected the raven. He had never seen Sasuke like that before. He sat on the bed and sighed, running his fingers through his hair worriedly. He had never been in a situation like this before.

He was angry with Sasuke and he knew it would be difficult to be around the raven now. Sasuke had never shown any interest in anyone before. Girls had been throwing themselves at his feet, yet Sasuke hadn't bothered with any of them. It was almost like he didn't notice them. Every girl he met liked him, including Sakura. Naruto groaned. Could it be possible that Sasuke actually loved him that much? So much so he would become desperate enough to force a relationship through a jutsu? Naruto just didn't understand why Sasuke couldn't have just accepted rejection. The blonde shook his head and flopped down on the bed.

He shut his eyes and tried not to think about it anymore. _'I don't care. I wont ever give up on you.' _ The raven had sounded so sincere. Naruto could tell how determined Sasuke had been; Naruto had felt exactly the same way when he had been fighting to get Sasuke back from Orochimaru. He rolled over and hoped Sasuke would leave him alone; things were getting out of hand.


	21. Chapter 21

"Ah, Naruto, its okay. You meal has already been paid for." The blonde frowned and put away his money. "Already paid for? What do you mean?" he asked, looking down at his empty ramen bowl. "He told me he wanted to remain nameless, but he donated a generous amount to pay for whatever you eat in the future." The chopsticks Naruto was holding snapped in two and the splintered pieces fell into the empty bowl. "Nameless?" the blonde hissed angrily. "I'm gonna kill that bastard!" he growled. The man backed away slightly. "I'm sure he was only trying to be nice…" he said quietly. The blonde flew off his stood and ran out of view.

The blonde was on his way to find Sasuke, but ran straight into the raven. "Were you looking for me?" the raven asked. Naruto jumped away and sneered at Sasuke. "Of course not!" he snapped. Sasuke smirked.

"Oh, then why were you muttering my name under your breath as you walked?" he inquired slyly. Naruto blinked. "What's with you?" he snarled. "Why the hell did you _pay _for all my ramen when I don't even like you? I don't think you got the message that you can't buy me, or my friendship!"

"I'm not trying to buy you, I'm trying to show you how sorry I am." Sasuke replied. The blonde laughed bitterly. "You're not 'showing how sorry you are'. Money is nothing to you. You've got so much you could buy this village about five times over and still have more than enough left."

"I think your exaggerating, Naruto."

"Your pathetic. I can't believe your still using money to-" Sasuke held something under Naruto's nose.

The blonde looked at it for a second. Before Naruto could question what it was, Sasuke explained. "Your worried if you accept my friendship I might try and hurt you again, or force myself on you. This will suppress my chakra." It looked like a small silver bracelet. Sasuke pressed it against his wrist and it fixed on with a click. It glowed red for a second, and Naruto felt Sasuke's fade until he couldn't sense it anymore. The raven handed Naruto a key. "Only you can remove it now, which means I'm completely harmless." Naruto didn't take the small gold key Sasuke was holding out.

"That's only partly the reason I don't want you around me. Firstly I would have to forgive you for putting me under a jutsu that would have made me unable to control my actions and feelings for probably the rest of my life! Then I would have to forgive you for nearly killing me. It's a lot to forget Sasuke." The blonde mumbled.

"But could you? You mean everything to me, Naruto. I don't want to lose you."

The blonde took the key, grabbed Sasuke wrist and unlocked the bracelet. It expanded and slipped off Sasuke's wrist. As he felt Sasuke's chakra return, the blonde dropped the key. It landed on the floor with a soft thud next to the bracelet. "Just leave me alone." He said, before walking away.

Naruto had been close to forgiving Sasuke, and the raven could tell. This made him even more determined to win Naruto's friendship again. He looked down at the bracelet before walking away, leaving it on the ground. Naruto had immediately taken it off his wrist. Sasuke hoped this was a small sign of trust. The raven wondered what he would do next to show Naruto there could still be friendship between them.

"Waaaah!" Naruto jumped back, pointing wildly. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing with my TV?" another two men dressed in green walked past Naruto. They were carrying the blonde's sofa out of the house. "Burglars!" Naruto screeched. Another three men passed him carrying various things. "Hey! Give me back my table!" he was ignored. Naruto ran into his living room bewildered, wondering if there were any more people in his house. "Don't make me hurt you, because I swear I- whoa…" in place of his old television was a much bigger and more expensive-looking one. "W-what?" he tripped backwards and landed on a soft, comfortable sofa. Much softer, much more comfortable and much bigger than he remembered. He looked behind him. "Gah!" he jumped up again. "I can't afford all this!" the men in green reappeared carrying a new coffee table. "Were do you want this?" the blonde blinked.

"That…that is a nice table, so, um, you can just turn around and give me my old one back."

The table was put in the middle of the room exactly where the old one had been. "Argh, you're not listening!" Naruto complained.

"Were done in the kitchen!" Naruto's head snapped in the opposite direction were the voice had come from. "Kitchen?" he groaned worriedly. A man carrying a clipboard and a pen approached Naruto. It was held out to the blonde. "Sign here to prove you got what you ordered." He drawled.

"I didn't order this stuff!" he protested, as the pen was shoved in his hand.

"Look, buddy. Just sign on the line and we can all go home."

"I didn't-" the clipboard was shoved under Naruto's nose.

"It says right here you did. Naruto Uzumaki, right?" Naruto nodded. "Good, here." He was handed the pen again. "I can't afford all this!"

"That's not our problem. Sign it." Naruto frowned.

"Of course its your problem!" the blonde snapped. The man in front of him looked tired, and was getting very impatient. He saw groups of men, like the others dressed in green, walk past and out the door. How many people were in his house? And how the hell did they get in here in the first place? "You ordered this and have already paid for it. It's not our problem now. So, I need proof your received everything you ordered. Sign it." Naruto took the pen slowly.

"Already…paid?" the man opened his mouth and was about to argue with the blonde. "Alright, alright!" Naruto snarled and wrote his signature angrily on the paper. The man nodded curtly and walked out the door. Naruto stood in the room seething. "Sasuke…" he hissed.

He walked into his kitchen, dreading what he was going to see. For a minute, he wondered if he was still in his house. His entire kitchen had been changed. Some may say it looked better, but Naruto was far too angry to register that fact. He opened one cupboard, muttering under his breath about people touching his things, wondering if everything was still there. The blonde blinked. The entire cupboard was filled with ramen. Naruto slammed it shut, not letting himself be tempted. Pushing away the urge to try out the new flavours he had seen, he stormed into the hallway and in the process tripped up on something. "What the hell?" he snarled. "Wh- golf clubs?"

"You approve?" Naruto whirled around and was met by a smirking Sasuke.

"I don't know how you got those men in my house, or how you got all this crap in here so quickly, but you are going to call them back and get this out of here and have them bring my stuff back!" Naruto ordered. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You can't seriously want all that junk back?" Naruto glowered.

"You have no right taking my stuff like that! I mean, it's not even thoughtful!" Naruto gestured to the golf clubs. "I don't even play golf!" he hissed.

"I was going to teach you." Naruto pulled out one of the golf clubs and walked into the living room. He stood next to the new plasma TV. "Get rid of it, before I do it myself!" the blonde shouted. Sasuke didn't move. The blonde threw the club at the TV. When that broke, he picked up the club and dangled it threateningly over the brand new glass coffee table. "You might be able to get your money back on this at the minute, so I suggest you call whoever brought it here, back." The raven didn't seem bothered at all. "I'll get you a new one if you like." He nodded towards the TV.

The blonde dropped the golf club. It smashed right through the table. "Get. Out." He hissed. "I'm only trying to h-"

"Well your not! You're just making me angrier! Get, out!" Sasuke didn't move. "Out!" the blonde snarled. He shoved Sasuke out the door. "And take your shit with you!" he added, flinging the club out with Sasuke. The raven easily dodged it. It landed with a clatter beside Sasuke. The raven sighed as Naruto's front door slammed. He heard an angry shout, which meant Naruto had discovered his new bed. He decided he would leave it a while before trying again; this blonde hadn't appreciated his latest attempt at earning back friendship. And definitely cancel the new car from getting here, he added as an afterthought.


	22. Chapter 22

Sasuke sighed and stared at the blank page he had in front of him. He was trying to collate all the ideas he had of gaining Naruto's friendship, yet he had come up with nothing so far. He thought for a moment. He could always fake his death. He wrote that down. It would gain Naruto's forgiveness instantly; the blonde would feel so guilty. He sighed and crossed it out. "That's stupid…" he muttered. He would need to come up with a whole, believable, excuse as to how he would miraculously come to life again when he decided the blonde was feeling guilty enough. Besides, he thought, crossing out the idea vigorously again, considering he had 'died' once already, it would be less plausible already. He pressed the pen against the paper and wrote, 'money'.

He could always keep buying Naruto things until the blonde felt indebted to him, and then accept his friendship simply to make him stop. He sighed and crossed that out too. So far, it had been a complete failure and had only managed to make Naruto even angrier than he already was. Sasuke dropped the pen on the desk. The answer suddenly became clear. The raven had been so blinded by gaining Naruto's friendship in sneaky, underhanded ways; he had completely missed the best and most honest idea. He would simply let the blonde know how sorry he was by telling him. Over and over if it didn't work the first time. He would grovel until Naruto accepted his friendship. Just for good measure, he wrote 'grovel' on the paper and ticked it with a smirk before putting the paper in a desk drawer.

Naruto opened the door, silently begging it not to be Sasuke. His plea wasn't answered as he saw Sasuke stood right in front of him. He glared at the raven. "I've got the rest of the golf clubs if you want to be hit with one." He offered coldly.

"Naruto, please can we just be friends? I swear I won't keep offering you money, or doing stupid, ignorant and annoying things like that to make you feel uncomfortable. All I want is friendship and I'm so sorry for the things I've done. I was just trying to get you to accept my apology." He looked up at the blonde, his eyes begging. "Please," he added. Naruto shook his head.

"You were going to take advantage of me while I was under that jutsu, Sasuke. Then you tried to kill me."

"I wasn't thinking straight!" Sasuke pleaded. "You have to remember Naruto, I didn't have a childhood like everyone else. I was brought up to be an emotionless, flawless, perfect mini-Itachi." Sasuke mentally slapped himself on the forehead. He was supposed to be pouring his heart out to the blonde and 'mini-Itachi' was the best he could come up with? He continued anyway.

"So, when I fell for you it was all new feelings to me…then when you rejected me, that was new too." he stared at the ground. Naruto pulled him in the house and pushed him down on the sofa. "You're letting me in?" Sasuke asked. He was quite surprised; he had expected it to take a lot more grovelling than that. The blonde rolled his eyes and sat next to the raven.

"The amount of stuff you've bought me this house is practically half-yours anyway." He muttered. "You were saying?"

"Just before Itachi murdered my family he had started to isolate himself from everyone. My father, to be honest, was obviously scared of what Itachi was capable of. He thought if Itachi's friend was around him more it would help pull him out of, as my father put it, this 'dark place' he said his precious Itachi was in." Naruto noticed how he spat the word 'precious'. "Late one night I heard shouting. I went to see what was going on. In short, I saw my father bribing Shisui, Itachi's friend, with money so he would put up with Itachi's weirdness and be around him more." Sasuke sighed. "Naturally, rejection was something an Uchiha didn't stand for, so… I did, as I knew. Then I used the jutsu."

"You can't blame your father for that." Naruto pointed out, not liking the way Sasuke was blaming everyone but himself for his actions.

"No. When I was with Orochimaru, he used that lust jutsu to control anyone he wanted. Just like my father, he was another person I knew who got exactly what he wanted. So, I simply changed the justu a bit and…well, yeah." Naruto sat up a bit, interested.

"Changed it?" he asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Yes. In its original form it turns the person you used it on to a mindless zombie filled with nothing but lust. I wanted to _feel _something between us so I weakened it…hoping it would more _persuade_ you to love me…I don't know what I was thinking using in the first place. I'm just so sorry, can you forgive me?" he asked quietly. They both went quiet as Naruto thought over his answer carefully.

"O-okay. But I hope you realise, things aren't going to be like they were. And it's going to be a while before I can fully forget what you did."

Sasuke nodded and thanked the blonde. After that, silence lingered in the room. "But I'm not apologizing for the TV." Naruto added. "You shouldn't have bought it in the first place." He said with a small smile. The mood lightened and Sasuke smiled back a bit. "Or the table. But…" he looked Sasuke over. "…The, er, golf club didn't hit you did it?" Naruto asked nervously. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You saw for yourself it didn't." Sasuke told him. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "No, I didn't. I just threw you and the club out then slammed the door, kind of hoping it would hit you and you would get the message."

Sasuke smiled a bit more. "Dobe." He muttered. "I can have things put back the way they were if you wanted to." He told Naruto. The blonde thought for a moment.

"That would be good. Except…"

"Except what?" Sasuke encouraged Naruto to finish.

"Except the bed!" Naruto said. "Its way better than my old one, and way bigger too!" Sasuke smirked. "Alright then. Everything except the bed." The silence crept back. Naruto cleared his throat. "Um, okay then. You better go." He said. The raven didn't argue; he knew he would have to be careful with what he did and said to Naruto in the future to maintain their now very delicate friendship.

The blonde had decided it would be better it he and Sasuke had a little time apart. Things were edgy as they were without him allowing Sasuke to be around him all the time like the raven obviously wanted to. Naruto sighed. He was probably the only friend Sasuke had. All Naruto's friends would be willing to accept Sasuke due to the respect they now held for him when he saved the blonde's life. Naruto knew, however, that Sasuke wouldn't want to get to know them though. Sasuke just wasn't a sociable person. That made the blonde feel even guiltier about avoiding Sasuke, but the raven had to learn to meet other people and not just be around the blonde all the time. Naruto heard a knock on the door. "Ah!" he jumped under the table, begging for it not to be Sasuke. "Oy, Naruto!" the blonde let out a sigh of relief. That was definitely not Sasuke. He crawled out from underneath the table and answered the door.

He pulled Kiba into the house quickly, slamming the door shut behind them both hoping Sasuke wasn't lurking around waiting for Naruto to open the door; he wouldn't put it past the raven. Kiba eyed the nervous looking Naruto. "Is something wrong?" he asked slowly. Naruto sighed with relief again and locked the door. He walked into the living room and slid onto the sofa.

Kiba followed him. "Man, when did you get all this cool stuff?" the dog lover commented. Naruto groaned.

"Don't wana talk 'bout it." he grumbled into his hands.

"Why is the TV broken? And the table? Did you have a fight?" Kiba asked. Naruto wondered which question to answer first.

"The things are broken because I threw a golf club at them." Naruto replied, completely honestly. Kiba noted the new sofa and sat on the expensive piece of furniture warily. Naruto laughed as Kiba refused to let Akamaru out of his jacket and sit on the sofa like he usually would. "Its fine, Kiba." Naruto said, amused. He reached over and pulled the dog from Kiba, putting the animal on the sofa.

"Its leather. He'll only scratch it up and it looks new." Kiba argued. Naruto put his feet on the sofa and stretched out.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not keeping it for long anyway so Akamaru can wreck it for all I care." Kiba relaxed, but looked at Naruto with confusion.

"I haven't seen much of you recently. Sakura also told me Sasuke was alive! What the hell is going on?" he asked. Naruto studied Kiba for a moment. It would be great to tell his friend the truth, so he had someone to confide in. "if I tell you something I haven't told anyone else, would you keep it a secret?" Kiba nodded enthusiastically.

"Sure, man! You know me!" he added eagerly. The blonde took a deep breath.

"Well…when Sasuke came back he completely lost his memory of me. His entire memory had been changed to exclude me from it. Someone obviously didn't want him to remember me!"

"Freaky…" the dog lover breathed. "Everything except you?" he asked. The blonde nodded again. "Yeah. He remembered everything normally, with a slight changed to exclude me. Baa-chan made him stay with me; she said it would trigger his memory. But…" Naruto began tracing circles on the cool leather of the sofa. "Sasuke was really different and weird. He started telling me he loved me, and kissing me and stuff like that." Kiba's eyes looked ready to pop out of his head. "W-w- for real?"

"Yeah. I thought it would go away when he remembered everything and went back to normal, but it didn't. Of course, I refused every offer he made. But then, he offered me all this money, to get me to sleep with him." Naruto laughed at Kiba's expression; the dog lover was completely horrified.

"Yup. Its true. I refused that, so he used a jutsu he learned from Orochimaru on me to make me fall in love with him. I fought it off and told him I didn't want anything to do with him. Then he kept apologizing." He gestured around the room. "This was his idea of saying sorry." Naruto muttered. "I got really pissed and threw a golf club at the TV and dropped one on the table hoping he would get the message. Eventually he just begged. I told him we could be friends and nothing more." Kiba breathed out dramatically. "Whoa. I think the crazy snake guy addled his brain!" Naruto nodded, smiling. "You shouldn't have forgiven him, Naruto. He doesn't deserve it."

"I don't know…I'm avoiding him at the moment. I'm just going to see where things go." Naruto stopped drawing patterns on the sofa and let his hand drop into his lap. "I'm glad I could tell you. It's been a real bitch keeping it to myself." Kiba smiled.

"No problem! From now on, I'm your official bodyguard! I wont let Sasuke within an inch of you." He promised. Naruto laughed.

"That would be very helpful. But remember, don't tell anyone." Kiba nodded, a strange look spreading across his face. "What?" the blonde asked nervously, as Kiba thought; a dangerous and rare feat for his dog-loving friend. "You don't have any feelings back for Sasuke then?" he asked. The blonde's jaw dropped.

"What? Are you mad!?" he screeched, sending Akamaru running back to the safety of Kiba's jacket. "Heh. Sorry." Naruto muttered, poking the lump in Kiba's jacket earning a growl. "But, what on earth would make you ask that?" he asked, much calmer. Kiba shrugged.

"The way you reacted when Sasuke had left. Then when we all thought he had died for you…you were devastated, man." Naruto's expression darkened. Kiba didn't even know the half of it, he thought bitterly.

"I-it was guilt." The blonde said. Kiba rolled his eyes. "Has Sasuke sent you?" he asked, half-joking. Kiba laughed.

"Your probably right. Anyone could make you," he poked Naruto playfully. "Mr. Gullible, feeling guilty for anything! Anyway, I can make you forget all about the bastard!" he said, grabbing Naruto by the hand. The blonde looked puzzled. "In the way we do best!" Naruto understood immediately and smiled. "Alcohol, and lots of it!"


	23. Chapter 23

Naruto and Kiba hadn't fully succeeded in their plan. They were drunk, yet Kiba had failed to take Naruto's mind off Sasuke. "Shtuck up! 'as what he is." Naruto snorted, and leant against Kiba for support. "Akamaru's drinking the booze! Bad doggy!" Kiba stowed the dog back in his coat. The dog-lover wasn't much help and they both fell to the floor in a giggling heap. "How many times he kiss ya then?" Kiba asked. Naruto laughed and rummaged across the floor for the bottle he had dropped. "Dunno. Lotsh." He slurred.

"I love ya 'aruto!" Kiba said dramatically, launching himself on the laughing blonde. Naruto took another drink, but found it had all spilled out when he had dropped it. He threw away the empty bottle. "Yah jus' like that!" he exclaimed when Kiba tried to kiss him.

Sasuke hadn't seen the blonde around lately; he was beginning to wonder if Naruto was avoiding him. As Sasuke turned the corner, he found who he was looking for. The blonde was rolling on the floor with Kiba. People were eyeing them nervously and keeping out of their way; they looked like lunatics. "I love ya!" Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed as he watched Kiba pull the blonde closer. "I'm gon' kiss you now!" Naruto roared with laugher and kissed Kiba. Sasuke had seen enough. Filled with a blinding rage, Sasuke marched over to them.

He ripped the blonde away from Kiba and dragged Naruto away from his oblivious friend. Sasuke pulled Naruto back to the blonde's house. He slammed the door, locked it, then threw Naruto on the bed upstairs. "Is it just me then?" Sasuke roared. The pure fury in Sasuke's voice seemed to sober up the blonde a little. "W-what?"

"I don't like guys!" Sasuke snarled. "That's what you told me!"

"Sasuke, I-"

"Then why were you kissing Kiba?!" he thundered, not giving Naruto a moment to explain. "I heard everything he said." Sasuke said, his voice dangerously low. "He can't have you!" he hissed, forming hand seals. This time, he wouldn't weaken the jutsu. Naruto would be completely his! The blonde noticed what Sasuke was doing a little too late. The raven climbed on top of the blonde.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked, his voice suddenly calm and sweet.

"Sasuke?" Naruto spoke his name softly, with a hint of undeniable lust. The raven smirked. "I'm here." He replied, placing his hand on the blonde's cheek. Naruto savoured the touch and looked up at Sasuke, his eyes swimming with emotion. The raven's eyes focused on something orange lying on the bed next to Naruto.

He picked it up and sat up. Sasuke noticed that it was the same book Naruto had been writing in when Sasuke had come to apologize. He snorted as he read the cover. "Naruto's diary?"

"Sakura said it would be a good idea." He said, his voice slightly dreamy, eyes focused on Sasuke. The raven opened it to the latest page and began reading. "W-what?"

'I can't believe Sasuke would be so desperate. He's evil to take advantage of me like that. It almost makes me wish he'd never come back at all. I feel like I don't know him anymore. Maybe the time he had with Orochimaru changed him or something, because he sure isn't the Sasuke I spent years fighting to bring home. Surely he wouldn't have wanted me like that under a jutsu? He said he loved me, yet is forcing someone to love you really love at all in the first place? Would he have been happy loving the Naruto without a soul? Without any real feelings, just the ones that have been planted there? I don't understand him anymore. I thi'

The passage ended abruptly, with a slight blotch. Sasuke noted that Naruto had strangely neat handwriting; not what he would of expected from the blonde. Sasuke supposed this was where he walked in. He slammed the book shut and threw it across the room. "Stupid dobe. What would you know?" he snarled, his anger building again. He pushed Naruto on the bed and climbed on top of Naruto. "Say it!" he demanded.

"Say what, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, looking up at the raven. There wasn't even a hint of fear in Naruto's voice. "Tell me! Tell me you love me!"

"I love you." Naruto replied obediently.

Sasuke simply stared at Naruto for a moment. He always thought it would be something special, hearing those words come from the blonde, but it didn't even sound like Naruto. "Say it like you mean it!" he snapped.

"I love you," Naruto repeated, in the same monotone voice. Sasuke climbed off Naruto. He felt nothing. Naruto was right; why should he feel something from a confession that wasn't really coming from the heart of the person he wanted it from? He kissed the blonde gently, knowing it would be the last time Naruto would let him anywhere near him. "I always make a mess of things, don't I?" he mumbled. Naruto gazed up at him adoringly.

Sasuke sighed and released the jutsu. The lust filled stare hardened until realisation hit the blonde. "You-"

"I know." Sasuke said quietly.

"You bastard. That's it, Sasuke. I've really had it with you." Sasuke climbed off Naruto, moved off the bed and stared at the floor.

"I know." He repeated. "And you're right. I wouldn't have been happy loving the Naruto without a soul." He said sadly, walking to the door. Naruto shut his mouth, not having the time to shout at Sasuke. He watched the defeated raven slink out of the house. "At last," the blonde grumbled. "He gets it."


	24. Chapter 24

The jutsu seemed to have affected the amount of alcohol Naruto had consumed; he didn't feel at all drunk anymore. He decided to find Kiba, hoping his friend wouldn't remember the drunken kiss they had shared when imitating Sasuke. He found his friend exactly where he was before Sasuke had pulled him away. "Kiba?" the dog-lover didn't move. "Your squashing Akamaru." The white dog pulled himself from under his owner and began licking Kiba's face happily. This seemed to rouse Kiba. He pushed Akamaru away from his face and opened his eyes, looking around with a confused look on his face.

"Nhhh?" Naruto sighed and pulled Kiba up.

"Come on, dog-breath. Help me out here, your heavy!" he told his friend. Kiba slung his arms around Naruto giggling. The blonde groaned and caught Kiba as he tripped. "God, your hopeless. If Hinata could see you now…" Naruto knew of Kiba's feeling for Hinata, no matter how much he tried to hide them. "Hinata!" he jumped up and blushed. "Where?" he slurred, looking around. Naruto laughed and pulled Kiba along. "She's not here, idiot. Hurry up, its cold out here." Kiba walked along heavily allowing himself to be pulled by Naruto.

He was still looking around wildly for Hinata, nearly stepping on Akamaru's tail in the process. Naruto pulled him away from the white dog. "Careful!" Kiba didn't even notice what he had nearly done. Naruto quickly picked up Akamaru and stowed the dog in his jacket, like Kiba always did. That way he would still have his hands free to drag Kiba along the street and he could keep the dog from further harm. "I'm not Kiba, but stay there." He told the dog. His reply was a lick on the nose. The blonde grabbed Kiba again and carried on dragging him.

They finally reached the house. Naruto dumped Kiba on the sofa awkwardly, pulled Kiba's dog from his jacket and placed the dog on top of his master. He noticed that Kiba was already asleep. Akamaru looked up at Naruto, cocked his head to one side, and barked once. "Shhh." The blonde muttered, even though he knew it would take a lot to wake Kiba up now. Naruto went upstairs and crawled into bed. He couldn't help his thoughts from drifting onto Sasuke. He groaned and slammed his head on the pillow, hoping it would force the thoughts from his head. He decided he needed a way to get the raven out of his head. Suddenly the perfect solution popped up. He decided he would put his plan into action in the morning. For now, he would have to try and get to sleep as quickly as possible so he would stop thinking about Sasuke.

Naruto was asking the hokage for a mission. Something dangerous that wouldn't give his Sasuke-filled mind a moment to wander. Tsunade didn't seem too impressed. "Have you had a falling out with Sasuke?" were the first words out of her mouth. The blonde cringed. He immediately plastered his face with the smile that seemed like an automated response to everything. "Of course not!" he assured her. "Look, it's just been a really long time since I've been on a mission. I'm getting kind of out of shape!" he told her with a grin, patting his stomach and faking worry. She rolled her eyes. His whole charade was completely unbelievable. She knew when Naruto was having problems he would push them deep down and ignore them. He would let out his frustrations through a mission. Every time Naruto was so predictable.

She eyed the blonde before her thoughtfully. She knew running away from Sasuke wouldn't sort out any problems that had obviously arisen between them. A grin spread across her face; she had the perfect plan to help. "Alright." The blonde moved back slightly. He had expected to have to put up more of a fight to get a mission from her. "Really?" he asked carefully. The hokage nodded.

"If I give you this mission, there will be no backing out of it, understood?" he told him. The blonde nodded enthusiastically; surely this would mean the mission was going to be very important and complex, perfect for distracting himself from thoughts of Sasuke. "Sure!" She pulled a key from around her neck and slotted the key into the lock on a drawer. Once she had turned the key, she formed a hand seal and muttered something under her breath. Naruto watched as she pulled out a small box from the now open drawer.

She placed the box on the desk and opened it to allow the blonde to see its contents. Inside, resting in a layer of heavy protective padding lay a necklace with a blood red gem dangling from its gold chain. The blonde looked at it. She closed the box again and placed a piece of paper on the desk. "This is more valuable than you could possibly imagine. It is a unique, handmade piece and the stone inside is very rare. It has been kept here for safekeeping, but now the owner would like it returned." The blonde nodded again to show he understood. "There has also been an information leak and this is why the mission is rated so highly."

"Information leak?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," the hokage continued.

"Other countries now know that the necklace is being transported. Like I said earlier about it being expensive, I wasn't exaggerating. People would _kill _to own this. It is probable other countries will send ninja to steal it from you, perhaps even teams to take the necklace for their own. If they catch you, it wont be pretty." She indicated something on the paper. "You must deliver it to here." Tsunade pointed to where Konoha was on the small map on the paper and ran her finger over the route Naruto would be taking. Her red-painted fingernail lingered on the necklaces, and also Naruto's, destination. She picked up the box and closed it. Tsunade then pressed a piece of hard wax against the seam of the box. Chakra formed around her thumb. The wax melted and she quickly pressed a small stamp against it. Naruto watched as, when she moved then stamp away, the Konoha leaf symbol was formed on the wax. She pushed the box to the blonde. "The owner expects that seal to be _completely _intact, understand."

"Why?" Naruto asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"While the necklace was entrusted to me, the owner paid me directly to keep it safe and does not trust the Konoha shinobi to deliver it without tampering. Imagine how easy it would be to have a fake one made and replace it with the real one? This way, from my desk to the owners hand they know it has been completely untouched as the seal will be unbroken." The blonde picked it up and eyed the wax seal. "Couldn't the seal just be duplicated as well though?" he asked. The hokage glared at him.

"You just can't take my word for it, can you brat?" she sighed; this was taking longer to explain than she thought. The hokage sat up straighter. She couldn't blame the blonde for being curious.

"No. Aside from being very, very difficult to copy, it is changed randomly and frequently. It's something that cannot be guessed by enemy ninja, or even Konoha shinobi who may be planning to steal the necklace. The seal formation is known only by the person receiving that," she pointed to the box Naruto was now holding. "And myself." The blonde seemed satisfied by the answer. "Alright!" he said, pocketing the box. The hokage passed him the paper she had previously pointed to. "Show this to your mission partner when you meet him tomorrow morning just before you set up. Explain briefly to keep this already long mission as short as possible."

"Mission partner?" he groaned. Tsunade smiled; his reaction was so predictable.

"Yes, mission partner. This is a very dangerous and complex mission. You need someone to watch your back. Besides, if you do get ambushed and one of you gets killed, the other can escape with the necklace. That way there is a better chance of delivering the necklace and completing the mission."

"Sure, because that stupid piece if jewellery takes priority over another shinobi's life any day." Naruto muttered sarcastically, sounding quite angry. The hokage's head snapped up.

"What was that?" she said threateningly. The blonde gulped at her menacing appearance. "N-nothing." He lied quickly.

"Good luck tomorrow then. Your partner will be waiting at Konoha's gates at the designated time. Don't be late." She then explained to the blonde the time would be written on the paper.

Naruto thanked her and left. The hokage watched him walked out.

"_If I give you this mission, there will be no backing out of it, understood?"_

She knew the blonde would never go back on his word, he never had before and she had made sure there would be no escaping this for Naruto. Now all she needed to do was force one Uchiha Sasuke into an 'emergency' mission.


	25. Chapter 25

Naruto wasn't too thrilled about getting a mission partner. He wished the hokage had told him who it would be. The blonde decided it was probably going to be Shikamaru. With the blonde fighting skills and Shikamaru's tactical skills the necklace would be safe. While he walked to Konoha's gates, he thought of the easiest and fastest way to explain the mission to his mission partner as the hokage had said he would need to. When he reached the gates, he noticed someone waiting for him, wearing a jounin uniform. "Oh, hell no!" the figure, startled by the loud outburst looked around. His eyes fixed on the blonde. Naruto walked over to his mission partner and gave the raven in front of him a cold stare.

"Uchiha." He greeted the raven coldly. Sasuke stared at Naruto almost fearfully. "N-Naruto?" he asked weakly. The blonde's cold stare didn't waver. He was going to kill Tsunade when he got back from the mission. "Unfortunately, you are to be my mission partner. I don't trust you, so just stay out of my way." He growled.

"Naruto, Tsunade-sama didn't say that you were my mission partner. She simply said it was a chance to redeem myself by completing an important mission." He said quickly so Naruto wouldn't blame this on him as a way to win back the blonde's friendship. The blonde narrowed his eyes. He knew the hokage had done this on purpose. He couldn't blame her though; she had no idea how bad things really were between them and that this simply wasn't one of their usual arguments.

He sighed, remembering what she had said about backing out of the mission. She was definitely too sneaky for her own good sometimes. Knowing there would be no way around this, the blonde quickly decided he would go ahead with the mission anyway, and just make sure Sasuke stayed out of his way. He was stuck with Sasuke until he delivered the necklace, so the quicker he got back, the quicker he would be able to get rid of Sasuke. Naruto pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and shoved it at Sasuke. "We deliver the necklace that I currently have. There could be ambushes. Lets go." He said shortly. Sasuke scanned the document and passed it back to Naruto. Sasuke followed Naruto quietly, his eyes never leaving the blonde. Neither of them said anything; they travelled silently.

"Were stopping." Naruto announced, when it had begun to get dark. Sasuke nodded. "Okay." He replied quietly. Naruto quickly collected some wood for a fire. Sasuke used a fire jutsu to set the wood aflame. Naruto made sure he sat as far away from Sasuke as possible, but close enough to the fire to keep warm. The raven watched as Naruto fought to stay awake. "You should sleep. I'll take the first watch." Sasuke offered gently. Naruto immediately became more awake and sneered at Sasuke. "Fuck off." That was all the blonde said, and with a new enthusiasm forced himself to stay awake. The blonde watched as Sasuke stood up at sat near him. He pulled off his jacket and gave it to Naruto. "You're shivering, here." Naruto clenched his teeth and tried counting to ten. He didn't even reach two before he punched his rival in the face. Sasuke recovered quickly from the blow and looked up at Naruto questioningly.

"Don't act like you fucking care you bastard. Just stay the hell away from me!"

"I do care, Naruto, I really do." Sasuke protested.

"Don't push me, Uchiha!" he snarled. Sasuke wished Naruto would stop calling him that. Even when they had been the most aggressive towards each other, the blonde never called him that. It had always been 'Sasuke'. The raven would even settle for 'teme' right about now. "Please don't hate me," Sasuke asked. It came out as more of a plea than he intended. He didn't get a reply. Naruto walked away and sat against a tree, silently fuming and ignoring that fact that Sasuke had been right; he had been extremely cold. Now away from the fire he was even colder, but he ignored that too.

Eventually, Naruto had fallen asleep. Sasuke walked over to the blonde and smiled sadly at his comrade. "I've really done it this time, haven't it?" he murmured sadly. He placed his hand on a whiskered cheek. "If only I didn't have such fucked-up ways of thinking…perhaps I shouldn't have asked Lorde-sama to come back at all. I've only made things worse for you." He moved his hands away. He picked up his jacket which Naruto had thrown to the floor and placed it over the shivering blonde; he reminded himself he would need to remove it before the blonde woke up, otherwise he could create another argument. "Sasuke…" the raven looked up at the still sleeping blonde. Had he just imagined that? He slumped down and sighed. This was going to be one hell of a long mission; he just hoped he wouldn't upset Naruto too much during the time they had to work together.

Naruto woke up much sooner than Sasuke had expected. The blonde shoved Sasuke's jacket off him with disgust. "I told you I didn't want it!" he snarled. Sasuke quickly took it back. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. The blonde ignored his apology.

"You should have woken me up." Naruto snapped, his bad mood escalating. Sasuke opened his mouth, another apology on his lips. "I don't want to hear it, Uchiha. Were leaving." The raven shut his mouth and followed Naruto. He made sure he stayed behind Naruto so he wouldn't aggravate the blonde further. Sasuke suddenly sensed someone's chakra that wasn't Naruto's or his own.

Naruto seemed to notice this too, as the blonde suddenly stopped. Sasuke caught up to him and stood near the blonde. "Were being followed." The raven announced. Naruto muttered something under his breath that sounded to Sasuke like, 'no shit, Uchiha.' Naruto reached in his weapon pouch and retrieved a small box. "Were probably going to be attacked if we can't outrun them." Naruto said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. Naruto glared at Sasuke; he really didn't want to be talking to Sasuke anymore than he had to. "The necklace is valuable. I'm going to speed up a bit and hope we can shake them off." The blonde explained. Sasuke just agreed.

"Naruto, its no use. They're catching up." Sasuke shouted as a kunai flew past them. He ignored his plan to stay behind the blonde and caught up quickly; he needed Naruto to understand that keeping up this pace would just waste chakra when the enemy was keeping up easily. "Their right behind us, dobe." Naruto stopped immediately. "Don't you _dare_ call me that, Uchiha!" Sasuke dodged another kunai that was aimed at them. "Now is not the time to be arguing!" Sasuke hissed. Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Don't you tell me what to do!" he snarled. Another kunai whizzed past them. Naruto seemed more interested in arguing with Sasuke than protecting himself from the oncoming attack. "Come on dobe, we've got to get out of here!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's shoulder and shoved the blonde to get him moving. Naruto pulled away from Sasuke. "I thought I told you not to call me that!" Naruto snarled. "And don't you touch me!" Naruto added angrily. Sasuke quickly deflected another kunai that was this time aimed at the blonde's head.

This finally got Naruto's attention. "See?" Sasuke said exasperatedly. They were already too late to get out of sight; the enemy had already caught up. "Hand over the necklace and we might consider not killing you." Naruto's head whipped around and he stared at the intruders.

"Naruto, give the necklace to me." Sasuke whispered. Naruto looked at him with an incredulous look on his face. "And why, exactly, would I do that?" the blonde asked angrily. "Because then they would come after me, instead of you. I don't want you getting h-" Naruto shoved Sasuke roughly.

"Don't even bother giving me the caring bullshit again." He turned back to the enemy shinobi. They certainly weren't pushovers, Naruto could tell. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he would really need Sasuke's help for this. "You'll have to kill us first," Naruto growled. A third ninja appeared, chuckling with the others.

"If that's the way you want it." he said with a smirk. Sasuke immediately shoved his hand in Naruto's weapon pouch and pulled out the necklace.

He made sure the enemies could see what he had in his hand before darting away, drawing two of them away from Naruto. The raven and the other two shinobi had disappeared before Naruto could protest. The blonde pulled out a kunai and his gaze fell on the ninja before him. "They'll be back with the necklace." The enemy assured him, radiating confidence. "And by the time that happens, you'll be dead." He added. Naruto noticed they weren't wearing headbands; that way he wouldn't be able to report which village they were from. "Your friend got lucky with the other two, you wont stand a chance against me." Naruto knew this was an outright lie; he would be able to sense if this guy had been any more powerful than the others. "He's not my friend!" Naruto spat, throwing the kunai he had been holding. It was easily deflected. Naruto summoned some of kyuubi's chakra. He needed to finish this quickly and get the necklace back from Sasuke; he didn't trust the raven at all.

A large amount of chakra was leaking from somewhere and it was growing unbelievably bigger by the second. He knew it wasn't his own, so that could only mean one thing. The guy in front of him smirked. "Heh. You get it now?" was the cocky retort. Naruto was suddenly a lot more anxious about fighting, but getting out of it was not an option. The blonde jumped; the shinobi in front of him had gone. For a wild moment he wondered if he had run off, but that was obviously too good to be true. Naruto, with the help of Kyuubi was able to keep up with his enemy's assaults. He was thankful the enemy had used any jutsu yet; he had no idea what to expect, and it was bound to be powerful. He knew the enemy would realise that hand-to-hand combat was not going to work; with the Kyuubi the blonde could just about keep up and so far the enemy hadn't been able to land a single hit. It was when the enemy backed off that Naruto became worried. "Naruto!" the blonde looked around to see Sasuke. The raven was holding the same sword Naruto had seen him use while he had been with Orochimaru.

The blonde glared at the blood-covered katana with distaste. Of all the weapons Sasuke could have used; was the raven looking for another fight? "Dobe!" Naruto was about to yell at his teammate despite the dangerous circumstances, when he saw the look of complete terror on Sasuke's face. Naruto turned to look at what had worried Sasuke. In front of him were what looked like a wall of kunai. There were too many to count. Naruto wondered if it was some kind of barrier as a defence mechanism, but when each knifepoint turned towards the blonde, Naruto thought differently. There would be no way to deflect these; not all of them at the same time anyway. He might have been alright with kyuubi's chakra, but he could feel that fading. He felt like it was being drained away and Kyuubi wasn't providing any more; it seemed the fox didn't appreciate his chakra being drained, so he simply refused Naruto any more. The blonde hated how narcissistic the fox could be a times.

The enemy moved slightly, so Sasuke reacted. He leapt in front of the kunai keeping only a small distance between his chest and the knifepoints. Taking full advantage of the length of his sword, Sasuke pushed it though the barrage of kunai and stabbed the enemy with amazing speed. The raven watched as the shinobi fell. He pulled his sword back and dropped it on the ground. The kunai didn't fall, or even drop at all. Even with the wound Sasuke had inflicted on the enemy, the shinobi still managed a knowing smirk. Sasuke realised the attack was still going to happen, and simply wounding the enemy wouldn't stop it. "Take this!"

Sasuke jumped back and dived completely on top of Naruto, grabbing the blonde around the waist and holding him tight. Sasuke was glad he was slightly bigger than Naruto; he would be able to completely protect Naruto from the oncoming attack. Sasuke gripped Naruto harder as he felt an intense pain erupt on his back. Sasuke hardly even registered the squeak of protest Naruto gave. "Get off me!" Naruto only seemed slightly concerned as Sasuke slumped against him, breathing heavily against his neck. The blonde shoved Sasuke hoping the raven would get up by himself. Sasuke finally let go of Naruto and pushed himself up allowing Naruto to slip from underneath. The raven noticed the blonde was completely unhurt. As Naruto stood up, he noticed that Sasuke had killed the enemy shinobi.

He had no idea why Sasuke had jumped on him, but the raven hadn't exactly been predictable the past few weeks. Wondering where the kunai had disappeared to, he glanced down at Sasuke, hoping for an explanation. The raven hadn't got up yet. Suddenly the lunge the raven had taken made sense to Naruto. He looked down at Sasuke's shaking form with wide eyes. Part of him was screaming 'walk away'. Everything Sasuke had put him through, the amount of times Sasuke had tried to kill him, wouldn't it be fair? Naruto shook his head quickly; he didn't know what part of him had been thinking like that, but he certainly didn't like it. He dropped by Sasuke's side, having a look just how bad things were. He grimaced, pulling out the kunai, trying to ignore the pained sounds Sasuke tried to hide as he pulled out each one out. "Sasuke, I'm going to get you back, okay?" the blonde told the raven shakily, pulling Sasuke against him so his back wouldn't touch the floor.

Naruto heard Sasuke snort. "Yeah right, dobe…" he muttered darkly. He pulled away from Naruto and landed painfully on his back. "Your not g-going to get me back in time." He told the blonde. "Just leave me and deliver the necklace. After all, that's the mission." Sasuke said. The blonde bit his lip and looked down at Sasuke, trying to ignore all the different feelings that were mixing up inside him. All the hate he had been feeling for the raven had simply vanished. "You always have to save me, don't you?" Naruto said, trying and failing to sound angry with Sasuke. "First with Haku, then Orochimaru, now this…" Sasuke pulled a box from his pocket and gave it to the blonde. Naruto noticed it was the necklace Sasuke had taken from his to draw the enemies away. "Now hurry up; there could be others." Sasuke told the blonde. Naruto was shaking almost as much as Sasuke now, but not for the same reason. "I can get you back, I can," Naruto assured Sasuke. "I'm fast, and with kyuubi's chakra, I would be even faster." He explained. Sasuke sighed. Naruto would make Kyuubi give chakra if it was the last thing he did.

"The mission, dobe." He reminded the blonde.

"Who cares about that!" Naruto snapped. "The only thing I care about right now is-" the blonde shut his mouth with a snap. "What, me?" Sasuke asked sarcastically. He thought the blonde would never care again, not after everything he had done. The cold Naruto he had started the mission with looked like he wanted to kill Sasuke himself; he had really destroyed any type of friendship with Naruto.

He wasn't expecting Naruto's answer. "Yeah."


	26. Chapter 26

Naruto had insisted in getting Sasuke straight home and to Tsunade to be healed. The raven didn't talk much on the way home; he was still thinking about what Naruto had said. The blonde had replied yes to Sasuke's sarcastic comment about caring. Would that mean they could build up a friendship again? He squashed down any hope that was forcing its way up. He didn't deserve Naruto's friendship. He couldn't even trust _himself _not to hurt the blonde again. "Dobe, this is pointless." He muttered, closing his eyes. He had felt himself weakening all the way back to the village. He had no idea how far from the village they were, and Sasuke could tell he had lost a lot of blood. He was getting more tired by the minute and decided it would just be better to embrace the darkness than to fight it any longer. Naruto felt Sasuke completely relax in his arms.

The blonde didn't stop, but looked down worriedly. "Sasuke?" he didn't get a reply. Naruto did stop then. "Sasuke?" he repeated, lightly louder. He dropped from the tree branch he was standing on and gently put Sasuke down. "Talk to me, teme!" he demanded. He grabbed Sasuke's hand and felt it move slightly. He sighed with relief, but that was short lived. He could tell Sasuke was giving up. "You are not dying on me!" Naruto snapped his voice cracking. Naruto could feel himself beginning to panic. He picked Sasuke up and carried on back to the village at an even faster, more determined pace. If Sasuke could hold on until they got there, he would still have a chance in Tsunade's excellent medical care.

When Naruto finally reached Konoha he gave Sasuke straight to the hokage. Ignoring the fact she may have been busy he burst into the office with Sasuke, panicking again. She had immediately called for a team of medical ninja and pushed Naruto out of the way, telling him he wasn't making things any easier with his constant shouts of, 'is he going to be okay?' Shizune had kept him in the office while Tsunade rushed Sasuke out. The blonde had been getting more and more agitated as the minutes past, and he was about to argue with Shizune again to let him out when the hokage walked in. the blonde stared at his hands, which were covered in Sasuke's blood from where he had been carrying the raven. He clenched his fists trying to hide the blood on his palms and looked up at the hokage. "I-is he going to be alright?" he croaked. The hokage nodded, putting the blonde's mind to rest.

"He's going to be fine. You got him here just in time. May I ask how you got back so quickly?" she asked.

"We didn't…get all the way there." Naruto said, pulling the necklace from his pocket. "I used the kyuubi's chakra to get me back faster because Sasuke got hurt when we were ambushed." She took the necklace with a half-hearted glare. The blonde had obviously been concerned about Sasuke, which must have meant her plan had been a success in bringing them back together.

"You failed to complete the mission." She stated. The blonde refused to answer that question. Sasuke was much more important. "Can I see Sasuke?" the blonde asked. The hokage couldn't help but smile; her plan _had_ worked then, although not in the way she had planned. "Yes, but I don't know when he will wake up." She told the blonde. Naruto didn't have time to give her a reply; he simply ran out the room intent on finding the Sasuke.

When he saw Sasuke, the raven was looking a lot better. He wasn't shaking at all anymore and he didn't look any paler than he normally did. Naruto sighed with relief and pulled up a chair by Sasuke's bed. He gently placed his hand on one of Sasuke's and stared at the raven's sleeping face. He had been so furious with the Sasuke, yet now he felt nothing but confusion. "Perhaps Kiba was right…" Naruto muttered, thinking about what his friend had said about the feelings he might have for Sasuke. At the time he had dismissed it as guilt; but the blonde knew this was a lie. He hadn't known quite what it was, but it wasn't guilt. Kiba had chosen the right word. Devastation. The blonde sighed and stared at Sasuke intently. He had been completely devastated when he thought he would never see Sasuke again. His entire life had revolved around Sasuke. First, as his rival. Then his friend. Then bringing him back from the sound village.

When he had thought Sasuke to be dead, it was like nothing else had mattered. Naruto pulled his hand away from Sasuke's and placed over his own wrist, the horrible memories had scars to prove them. His own life hadn't mattered without Sasuke. Naruto had no idea when he had become so dependant on Sasuke.

X flashback X "You don't understand! I. Love. You. I know I'm not unattractive, so that can't be the problem…" 

"_Sasuke, its not that! I just don't feel for you what you want me to. You're my best friend, nothing more." Rejection was something the raven hadn't experienced before; he wasn't liking it. "Can't you try?" he asked, a little desperate, something which the raven had never been in his life._

X end flashback X 

Naruto placed his hand back on Sasuke's, thinking. Could he love Sasuke if he tried? The blonde let out a huff of annoyance. This was so complicated! Naruto eyed Sasuke's lips and wondered what it would be like to kiss Sasuke himself, rather than the raven forcing it. The blonde noticed that he had got much closer to Sasuke. Was it so bad when Sasuke did kiss him? He leaned over Sasuke a little more, placing his hands either side of the raven's head. He closed his eyes, moved forward a bit more and kissed Sasuke gently. Worried Sasuke might wake up, Naruto moved away. "What were you doing?" Naruto jumped back and missed his chair, landing painfully on the floor. "N-nothing!" the blonde squeaked, hoping Sasuke would think he was dreaming or something. "You kissed me, dobe." Naruto paled; he would have to face the truth now. "I forgive you Sasuke." Naruto said. "A-and I think…I mean, do you still like me?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Of course I do, but I said I wouldn't force my feelings on you anymore. I promised I wouldn't." Sasuke replied.

Naruto blushed and looked at the floor and mumbled.

"I-I wouldn't mind if you did." Sasuke heard this.

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked. The blonde bit his lip.

"I like you too." Naruto said, even quieter this time. Sasuke sat up and stared at the blushing blonde. "Are you serious?" he asked slowly. Naruto nodded.

"I don't exactly know if I _love _you yet, but I do feel something. I don't know why I didn't realise I before, but it's just something Kiba said that made me understand…" Sasuke smiled, making a mental note to thank Kiba. Naruto sat in silence, clearly not knowing what to do next. "Alright then, Naruto, will you go out with me?"

"Yeah," the blonde replied smiling up at Sasuke. His smile quickly faded. "I'm sorry about being a complete bastard on the mission. I was just angry." He said. Sasuke shrugged. "You were completely entitled to. I deserved it, dobe." Sasuke replied. He took hold of Naruto's hand and pulled the blonde closer before kissing him. "Its good to see you two finally putting your differences aside." Sasuke and Naruto broke apart quickly and both their heads shot towards the door, wondering who had caught them.

Tsunade was stood in the doorway looking very pleased with herself. "W-we were, um, just…" the blonde failed to come up with an explanation and looked at Sasuke desperately, hoping the raven would be able to come up with something. "I could see perfectly what you were doing." The hokage said with a smirk. "I think this is going to be very interesting." She called back to the stunned blonde as she walked out of the room. Naruto turned to Sasuke, looking very worried. "What if she tells someone?" he asked hurriedly. Sasuke frowned.

"Would that be a problem?" he asked, his expression turning cold. "Are you ashamed of us?"

"No!" Naruto protested quickly. "Its just…people aren't going to be expecting us to be…" he trailed off again.

"What? A couple? You say it like it's a bad thing!" Sasuke shouted. "And since when do you care what people think!" he added angrily. Naruto stayed quiet.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea. Were arguing already…" he said sadly. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm so quickly the blonde jumped.

"Don't say that, I'm sorry. Its just, why are you against people knowing were in a relationship?" Sasuke said, much calmer this time. Naruto paused, thinking of his answer. "I don't know. I'm just making excuses I guess," He answered honestly. "I've never really been in a relationship before, especially not with another guy," Naruto caught Sasuke's strange expression. "Not that I mind that!" he added hastily. "Its just I…don't know what to do." He admitted quietly. Sasuke smiled.

"You don't have to 'do' anything, dobe. Its not a job." He added with a laugh. Naruto looked at the floor. "What if I screw things up?" he asked worriedly. Sasuke laughed again. "What could you possibly screw up? We'll just take things at your pace and go with what feels right." Sasuke told Naruto.

"You said you're not sure about how strong you feel about me yet, so lets just work on that, alright?" Naruto nodded, grateful that Sasuke was being so understanding. "Thanks" he added.

"So, when am I allowed to leave here?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know." Sasuke suddenly thought of something.

"Naruto, I'll understand if it's too soon and you don't want to, but I'm going to ask anyway. Would you like to move in with me?" Sasuke asked. He watched the blonde intently, waiting for a reply. Naruto thought for a moment before hesitantly giving his reply. "S-sure."


	27. Chapter 27

Naruto still had the feeling that Sasuke would expect something of him, and Sasuke could sense this. The raven had been allowed out of the hospital, and he had then helped Naruto move his belongings into to the Uchiha estate. Naruto kept on glancing at Sasuke nervously. Finally, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. "What?" he snapped, looking up from his mission report and glaring at the agitated blonde. Naruto jumped and looked down at the floor. "Nothing." He muttered.

Sasuke sighed and put down his pen. "Why are you so jumpy?" he asked. Naruto didn't reply. He knew what the problem was; he had no idea how to act around Sasuke now. They had been rivals since the very day they met. Even when they were friends, they were still both competing or fighting for _something _or other; nobody even noticed they had become closer.

Now that had changed, they were supposed to be… "Lovers?" the blonde spluttered out loud. Sasuke simply watched as Naruto turned bright red at his sudden outburst. Sasuke carried on writing deciding it would be best to leave the blonde with whatever inner battle he was currently going through. Sasuke paused, wondering if he had asked Naruto to move in too soon. Ever since the blonde had walked through the door he had seemed flustered and worried. Naruto gripped his blonde hair. If they were meant to be… "Boyfriends?" he squeaked.

Sasuke suppressed a snort. Naruto sure had a strange way of coping with a new relationship. Realizing he had spoken aloud again, Naruto forced himself not to look at Sasuke, who pretended not to notice. Naruto was still recovering from the thought that he now had a boyfriend. Iruka would probably have a heart attack. 'Hey, meet my new boyfriend. It's the guy who tried to kill me several times, Sasuke!' just wouldn't go down too well.

The blonde grimaced, just imagining the perverted look on Kakashi's face. But… if he and Sasuke were boyfriends, that would mean Sasuke would be expecting something _more_. Naruto knew there was no way in hell he was ready for that, but Sasuke even offered money for it, now they were in a relationship, Sasuke would want, no, _expect_ that!

Naruto glanced at Sasuke again, who seemed to be absorbed in his writing. Naruto had gratefully accepted Sasuke's offer of writing the mission report. Sasuke was very articulate with his writing so Naruto knew he would be able to make their complete failure to deliver the necklace not seem as bad. Naruto thought back on what Sasuke said at the hospital. The raven had made it clear they would be moving as fast or slow as Naruto liked. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

This would mean that Sasuke would _want _'it' now, but wouldn't force it. Right now, Naruto couldn't even bring himself to think the word. The blonde nodded to himself, not bothering about how stupid he must look. Yeah, Sasuke wouldn't demand that right- "Now." Sasuke's voice interrupted Naruto's thought and unknowingly seemed to finish the blonde's sentence Naruto squeaked again and fell off the sofa.

Sasuke put down his pen, walked over to the blonde and pulled him back on the sofa right on the raven's lap. Naruto watched Sasuke with wide fearful eyes. "I said, you wanted to go out for ramen. If your hungry, do you want to go now?" Naruto laughed weakly and relaxed on the raven realizing how stupid he had just been. Sasuke couldn't have heard what he had been thinking! "But I'm quite happy to stay like this…" Sasuke purred in his ear. Naruto shot up.

Sasuke buying ramen! Naruto's mind made the simple calculation. Sasuke is rich. Rich means lots of money, lost of money means lots of ramen! "Ramen, now!" the blonde demanded as he launched them both off the sofa. Sasuke smirked and followed the blonde.

Sasuke snatched the bowl away from Naruto. The blonde looked up at Sasuke, hurt. Sasuke simply shook his head and moved the bowl from Naruto's grasp. "No way! You are not eating anymore!" he said. Naruto pouted.

"But your _loaded_!" the blonde whined.

"Its not that, dobe! The amount you've already eaten…its…its inhumane! Its not _healthy_ or even normal!" a sly grin spread across Naruto's face.

"Fine, lets go, but I'll be so hungry when we get home I wont have any energy to _play_," he whispered in Sasuke's ear. The bowl was quickly passed back to the blonde.

Naruto seemed to be relaxing more while they were in a public place, but as they walked back, Naruto was getting worried again. Sasuke wondered if Naruto's was having doubts about whether he wanted to continue with this, but Naruto was thinking about something different.

The sleeping arrangements. Would Sasuke expect them to share a bed? Naruto lingered in the doorway and Sasuke soon caught on. "I have about twelve spare rooms dobe, you can choose which ever one you like." Naruto walked through the door and smiled at Sasuke. The raven was being so considerate, while he was acting like a nervous prat. Then again, the blonde reasoned with himself, he had good reason to be nervous. Sasuke had been very _forward _with his actions before and Naruto had no guarantee Sasuke wouldn't do it again. He would have to trust Sasuke completely.

That night, Naruto had taken one of the spare bedrooms. Naruto hadn't been able to sleep; he simply stayed awake wondering about how much he would be able to trust Sasuke. The raven had been willing to give his life more than once. Sasuke seemed really sorry for what he had done and like he really wanted to have a relationship between them at the blonde's own pace. With that thought in mind, Naruto climbed out of bed and decided he would show Sasuke that there was trust between them.

Sasuke was very surprised when he woke up with Naruto sleeping next to him. He felt something in his tummy flip over as he realized Naruto must have snuck in during the night. He smiled and led back down, perfectly content with watching the sleeping blonde. Light poured in from the window and shone on Naruto's face, but still not disturbing him. Naruto's hair was splayed out on the pillow behind him. Sasuke shifted closer. If Sasuke wanted to define the word beauty, he wouldn't find the description very hard at the moment. Before he had met Lorde, he had imagined angels would look more alluring and beautiful, just like Naruto. Sasuke forced himself not to laugh; he would wake the blonde otherwise.

Rowan was pretty good-looking, but he couldn't be called alluring. He bit back a laugh; Lorde looked about a hundred years old; he wasn't exactly beautiful in Sasuke's opinion. If he were to describe an angel, he wouldn't think of himself, yet he had been Naruto's angel. Naruto's eye's fluttered open and he brought his hand over his face to block out the sun that was shining in his eyes. Naruto smiled up at Sasuke. "Morning." He said sleepily. Sasuke smirked.

"Morning indeed. When did you sneak in?" he asked. Naruto blushed and squirmed slightly. "I couldn't sleep." He told the raven. "I just wanted to prove…that I can trust you Sasuke." Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto's cheek and ran his thumb over the familiar whisker marks, tracing each one gently. "Thank you," the raven replied, his voice filled with gratitude. He leant down and kissed Naruto gently. Sasuke ran his fingers through the soft blonde hair he had been admiring just earlier.

Naruto kissed back enthusiastically and didn't protest at all when Sasuke climbed on top of him and began running his hands over the blonde's stomach. Naruto's eyes slipped shut as he relished in the new feelings that were filling him. Sasuke didn't close his eyes; he couldn't take his eyes off Naruto. "Sasuke…" the blonde moaned. Something in the room caught Sasuke's his eye. Something he could never of expected. "Mm…Rowan!"


	28. Chapter 28

Naruto pulled away in shock. "What?" he demanded angrily. Rowan was gone before Sasuke could say anything. The raven looked away from the empty space where Rowan had been standing and looked down at the seething blonde. "Who is Rowan?" Naruto demanded, hurt and anger mingling on his face. Anger seemed to be winning. Sasuke didn't reply. He was still thinking about the strange look on Rowan's face. It was a mixture of emotions he had never seen Rowan display before.

Sasuke moved away from Naruto and sat up, wondering why he could see Rowan; he wasn't a guardian anymore, so he shouldn't be able to see angels. Lorde had explained no matter how sensitive a person may be to their surroundings they wouldn't be able to see a guardian, no matter what. So why would he see Rowan now? And what the hell was wrong with him? Sasuke couldn't deny he had created somewhat of a friendship with Rowan.

He had helped save Naruto, and Sasuke would be forever thankful for that. Naruto was still on the bed with a demanding expression on his face. "Who the hell is Rowan?" Naruto repeated, much louder this time. Sasuke looked back down at the blonde wondering how he was going to explain this.

"He's no-one." Sasuke said. Naruto's glare didn't waver.

"Then why were you moaning _nobody's_ name while kissing me?" Naruto asked, hurt evident in his voice.

"Moaning? Dobe, that was hardly a moan," Sasuke protested.

"Who is he?" Naruto said. "Just tell me, damnit!"

"Just somebody I used to know. He…he died a long time ago." This wasn't actually a lie, Sasuke reasoned. Rowan _was _dead after all. "One of Orochimaru test subjects. I tried to help him escape…but failed."

"Then why did you say _his_ name while you were kissing _me_?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged. "My mind wandered." He lied. Naruto huffed and walked out.

"Nice to know kissing me is so boring." The blonde called back to Sasuke. The raven sighed. He knew Naruto was hurt, but the damage wasn't irreparable. He would go and patch things up right away.

As Sasuke went to walk out of the room, what he didn't expect was to see Lorde standing in his way. Sasuke suppressed a yell of surprise as to not draw the blonde from the other room, and studied the old angel warily. This was not a coincidence. First Rowan, now Lorde. "We have a problem, Sasuke. I am very sorry, but I shall be calling you back shortly." Lorde explained.

Sasuke looked at him disbelievingly.

"You said I wouldn't be called back unless it was a dire emergency! Surely one of the others can take care of this?" he hissed. The man shook his head.

"I am afraid that is not possible. I understand the inconvenience this causes, but I was unaware we would have a situation like this so soon. I apologize once more, but you really are needed." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but Lorde faded away before his eyes.

Sasuke went back into the room and sat down heavily. He gripped his dark hair and let out a frustrated groan. "Fucking hell…" he muttered. He had no idea how he would explain this to Naruto. He also had no idea what the problem was and how long it would take to solve, so how would he account for his absence? The hokage would be suspicious too. "I'm so screwed," Sasuke groaned.

"Glad to see you realize what you've done." He looked up to see Naruto, who was standing in the doorway. He noticed, with a pang of guilt, that Naruto's eyes were slightly red; the blonde had been crying. Naruto stared at Sasuke, thinking hard. This relationship was supposed to be somewhat of a trial, as Sasuke had explained. Going at the pace Naruto wanted so he could figure out just how he felt for Sasuke. "Sasuke, look, perhaps it would be best if we-"

"No!" Sasuke said quickly. He knew exactly what was coming and he didn't want to hear it. "Please don't end things now. I really am sorry. It wont happen again, I promise." He silently cursed Rowan; that smug, superior bastard was _still _causing problems. He stood up and grabbed Naruto's hands in his own. "I know I keep screwing this up, but we do have something between us!" he assured the blonde. "You can feel it, I know you can." He whispered, putting his face right next to Naruto's. Sasuke could almost feel the heat radiating from Naruto.

"Alright," the blonde whispered back. "Please don't hurt me again," Naruto added quietly. Sasuke let go of Naruto's hands and held the blonde's waist instead. "I wont. I love you, dobe." Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes and was about to reply, when suddenly Sasuke jolted. "Sasuke?" Naruto voice was filled with worry. Sasuke let out a small gasp and clutched Naruto. "Sasuke, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, panicking.

The last thing Sasuke saw was Lorde standing behind Naruto, looking down at him, with a very apologetic look on his face.


	29. Chapter 29

Sasuke suddenly found the familiar weight on his back. This time he managed not to fall over backwards. He found himself beside his own body, which was now on the floor in a panicking Naruto's arms. He heard Naruto calling his name over and over, tears welling up in the blue eyes he loved so much. "What did you do?" Sasuke asked Lorde, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. The man sensed his anger, but didn't seem bothered or alarmed by it.

"You are currently in a coma. That means once the problem is solved you will be able to return to your body with no problems." He explained. Sasuke simply watched as Naruto picked him up and dashed out the room. "Do you have _any_ idea how much this is going to hurt Naruto?" he asked angrily. Lorde nodded, "I am aware the distress this will cause to your partner." He agreed. "But once you have helped, this once, it means you will then be able to fully continue with your life." Sasuke simply glared. Lorde had no idea how upset Naruto would be.

The blonde would end up blaming himself, like he always did. Sasuke's mind wandered to when Naruto had been self-harming, but he dismissed it quickly; he would be in a coma, not dead. That way the blonde would still have hope. Sasuke sighed. The quicker he got there and worked out what the problem was, the better. "Alright. What do you need me for?" Sasuke asked quickly.

Lorde nodded, looking very grateful Sasuke was going to co-operate. "I will take you back to the court of angels. I trust you will have no problem remembering how to use your wings?" Sasuke shook his head. He had been a very quick learner last time, so he shouldn't have any problems this time. Lorde nodded again. "Very well," He said, spreading his much larger wings. Sasuke followed.

Lorde had been able to fly much, much faster. Sasuke hurried down the blinding white corridor to find Lorde already sitting at his desk, looking as calm and composed as usual. Sasuke folded his wings back awkwardly and strolled down the corridor waiting at the desk. Lorde didn't look up at Sasuke, or even say anything. "So, what is it?" Sasuke snapped. He heard gasps and whispers about how demanding he was and how 'disrespectful' he was being to 'Lorde-sama.'

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, ignored them, and turned back to the desk. Lorde set the pen on his desk level. Once it had been arranged in a neat line, he looked up at Sasuke, who was now getting very frustrated. "Its Rowan. The problem lies with Rowan." Lorde revealed.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Lorde-sama's beloved Rowan had become a problem this large he called for Sasuke? The raven was intrigued. There was never a rule made by Lorde that Rowan didn't like. The brown haired angel almost craved them. He followed Lorde's orders without question and always had the utmost respect for the elder, so why on earth would he have caused a problem? "What's wrong?" Sasuke asked. A few more mutters sounded throughout the room. Sasuke wished they would shut up, and added a quick, 'Lorde-sama' on the end of his sentence. "Rowan has betrayed us. He has stolen ancient texts from the white library and used their knowledge for his own purposes." Part of Sasuke really didn't care; he believed after everything the other angel had done, how diligently he had served Lorde, he deserved something for himself. "For his own purposes, you mean what?" Sasuke asked.

"I believe he is trying to bring back his dead lover." Lorde replied. Sasuke thought for a moment. "Daniel…" he muttered.

"Not only that, but he has stolen ancient texts that explain how to bring one back to life." Sasuke frowned.

"I thought there wasn't a way, except for you to do it," he said. Rowan _himself_ had said this and seemed completely satisfied that there was no other way when Sasuke had asked. "Rowan is very, very clever. Some of our books are written in languages even I have failed to translate. Rowan, I believe, could manage it. However… anything they would translate would be very dangerous." Sasuke sighed.

"So what do you want me to do? Tell him hard luck, Daniel's dead?"

"Anything. The untranslated books are dark, dark magic indeed. Anything he uses from there… I shudder to think what may happen. You have to stop him. I believe you two shared a connection, so you should help him." Sasuke nodded.

"Where can I find him?" he asked.

"The library." Sasuke frowned at this.

"If he's still here, why can't you stop him?" he asked.

"The things he has been reading… he has powers beyond us, Sasuke. I have denied everyone access to the library. I don't want anyone getting hurt. You are the only one he may listen to." Sasuke was given directions to where Rowan would be. He noticed angels were becoming fewer and fewer as he approached the library.

"Rowan?" Sasuke walked into the library. It was huge. The ceiling was painted beautifully. It featured several angels and they were all circling a larger angel in the middle. There seemed to be no end to the rows of bookshelves. Sasuke found a dark red glow coming from behind a bookcase, so he approached that one. "Rowan?" he called again. The figure looked up.

"Uchiha!" he snarled. Sasuke's eyes were fixed on Rowan's wings. Protruding out were several blood red feathers. The rest of the white ones seemed to have lost their ethereal shine and looked more grey than white. The red glow broke and Rowan slammed the book he was holding shut. Seconds later, it burst into flames. Rowan sneered at him. "Back so soon?" he hissed, his voice filled with venom.

"Wont your pretty little blonde miss you?" Sasuke was completely taken aback; this was a completely different person. Rowan had changed so much since Sasuke had last seen him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Sasuke asked. Rowan stormed past him. "Nothing I can't fix. _He_ sent you, didn't he? That fucking, interfering, bastard. Well your too late!" Sasuke was shocked.

He felt like grabbing Rowan and shaking him, hard. "W-where are you going?" Sasuke asked, running after Rowan. They went out of the library and Rowan's red glow appeared again. He grabbed another angel who happened to be passing by. She struggled and protested.

Rowan muttered something in a strange language and the angel fell to the floor, her wings bent at a strange angel. Sasuke look down in horror. "What the hell did you do?" he screeched. Rowan pulled out one of his red feathers and smeared with the dying angels blood, murmuring once again in the strange language.

"I'm through with this place." The feather burned up and Rowan disappeared in a red flame. "See you back home, uchiha!" Sasuke frowned. What did he mean by that? He called for help, picking up the woman in his arms. Sasuke knew his job was to help Rowan, so he quickly explained what Rowan had done, and handed the woman to another angel. He hurried back to Lorde.

"Rowan attacked another angel, he stabbed her and then disappeared. He said he would see me back home. What does that mean?" Sasuke asked. "He went away in a red flame, so is he dead?" Lorde frowned.

"No. It appears things have become worse. Blood of the innocent; a typical recipe from one of those books. He may have found a way to come back to life." He explained. Sasuke realized this is what Rowan meant by 'back home'. "Shall I go after him now then?" he asked. Lorde paused, thinking.

"Firstly, I want you to check that Rowan is indeed, alive again. Go and look for him." Sasuke looked at him incredulously. "He could be anywhere!" he exclaimed. Lorde reached in his desk and pulled out a red amulet. It was the exact colour Rowan had been radiating earlier. "This will glow bright when he is near. The deeper the red gets, the closer you are to him." He pushed it across the desk for Sasuke to pick up.

Hesitantly, Lorde reached in the drawer again and pulled out a dagger. The handle looked like it was made from ivory. There were two white wings carved on the end. The dagger looked very sharp and the metal was shiny. It looked like it had never been used. " You must use this before Rowan's wings turn from white to completely red." He explained. Sasuke paled.

"_Use_? You want me to kill him?"

"Technically, that would be impossible. Rowan is already dead." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "No, he's not. He's alive again, I know it. That means I would be killing him."

"You will do what you have to. Stop his wings from becoming completely overtaken by red." Lorde said firmly. Sasuke took the dagger.

"It won't come to that." he told Lorde. He put the amulet around his neck and looked distastefully at the dagger. Something about the conversation sounded strange to Sasuke. "Wings? If Rowan has brought himself back to life, he wont have wings will he?" Sasuke asked. Lorde shook his head.

"Without me, it's going to be impossible for him to lose his wings. I gave him his wings so without me he cannot remove them." He explained.

"But, someone is going to notice the wings!" Sasuke said. "He's going to expose everything." Lorde nodded.

"It seems Rowan does not care for the safety rules I have put in place anymore. You must convince him to come back to me, or use the dagger if it is too late. In other words, he is an angel that will be seen by humans." Sasuke gripped the dagger tighter.

"Alright. If I can't fine him, shall I come back here?" Sasuke asked. Lorde nodded, and watched as Sasuke raced out the room in a flurry of feathers.

Naruto hadn't left Sasuke's side since he had been admitted to the hospital. The hokage had been completely baffled by Sasuke's condition. Sasuke seemed completely fine, expect for the fact he just wouldn't wake up. She had told Naruto he wasn't in any life-threatening danger; she just needed to know what caused him to slip into the coma, so she could work out what would bring him back out.

Tsunade saw this as an insult; of all her medical knowledge, she could not explain to the distraught blonde what exactly what wrong with his lover. She rubbed her temples and forced herself not to reach for the bottle of sake. She needed to find the answer, because Naruto wouldn't sleep or leave Sasuke's side until she had found a way to help the raven. She redoubled her efforts and picked up another book.

Naruto couldn't understand what had happened either. One minute, Sasuke had been fine. The next… he couldn't take his eyes off Sasuke. 'I love you, dobe.' That was the last thing Sasuke had said. "It feels like you've never left the hospital, teme. You always have to worry me, don't you?" the blonde complained. "Hurry and wake up Sasuke, there's something I have to tell you," Naruto whispered, running his hand through Sasuke's soft dark hair.

Sasuke had taken a guess and started near Konoha. Much to his surprise, the amulet glowed a weak red. As he approached the village it got a more intense colour which could only mean one thing; Rowan was somewhere in Konoha. He sighed with relief. This wouldn't take long; with the power of flight and the amulet he would be able to locate Rowan and bring him back.

Sasuke felt the amulet pull him forward, like it was being attracted by something. Sasuke followed its lead right in front of the hospital. He frowned; what would Rowan be doing in the hospital? The pull became stronger as he walked by each door and suddenly flew from his hands and smashed against one of the closed doors. Sasuke winced; he had no idea how important that amulet was to Lorde. He pushed that thought out of his head and stared the door. The amulet, to act like that, must have led him right to Rowan.

He tried to push the door open, but ended falling right through it forgetting how different things were when he was a guardian. He stopped himself from falling over and looked in the room. He was very surprised with what he saw. His body was in the hospital bed. Naruto was sat on one side of the bed holding his hand, completely oblivious to Rowan who was glaring at Sasuke's sleeping body. Sasuke wondered why Naruto hadn't seen Rowan, but he soon noticed Naruto had fallen asleep, his head resting gently on Sasuke's chest.

He stared at the blonde sadly, who had tear-tracks on his face. Sasuke's attention quickly went back to Rowan. "You need to come back." Sasuke was first to break the silence. Rowan turned to look at Sasuke, a look of pure hatred on his face. "Like that's gonna happen," he hissed.

Sasuke at least needed to get Rowan away from Naruto. He had seen for himself the strange powers Rowan had obtained and now Rowan was almost halfway alive, he didn't know if Rowans powers could hurt the blonde. Rowan stared at the blonde, yet another grayish feather turning into crimson red. "Can you believe that this boy is the Kyuubi?" Rowan asked in awe, his expression remaining dark.

The raven wondered how Rowan would know that. It was supposed to be a secret that Naruto held the Kyuubi, and Rowan didn't even know the blonde. Sasuke eyed Rowan warily; even his voice seemed to be changing. It somehow seemed darker, more foreboding. Rowan didn't even seem bothered by the dangerous-looking knife Sasuke was holding in clear view. Sasuke looked at he knife, then back a Rowan. Rowan still seemed to have less red feathers than he did white ones, so there would be plenty of time.

Sasuke was thankful he wouldn't have to use the knife. He opened his mouth, but shut it again quickly. He had no idea what to say to Rowan. He didn't want to make things worse, or make him angry. Rowan reached across the bed and touched Naruto on the shoulder. Rowan began drawing the deep red chakra of the Kyuubi from Naruto. It traveled up his arm and gave him a deeper red glow. "Hey, stop that!" Sasuke had no idea what effect that would have on his blonde. Rowan pulled his hand away, still emitting the unhealthy red glow. Naruto simply muttered Sasuke's name and shifted slightly. Sasuke sighed.

He should have known; the Kyuubi was known for its vast amount of chakra. Rowan wouldn't have even touched the blonde's chakra to draw such a small amount in such a short time. Sasuke was pulled out of his thoughts as Rowan jumped through the wall. Sasuke took one last longing glance at the sleeping blonde. "I'll be back," he promised, before spreading his wings and jumping after Rowan.

A/n: I know my chapters always seem to be very short, so hopefully this one is a little better. Once again, thanks for all of you who reviewed and left such wonderful comments!

Whippasnappa x


	30. Chapter 30

Powered up on the Kyuubi's chakra, Rowan was able to fly much faster than Sasuke, who as a guardian now had no chakra to control at all. Sasuke tailed Rowan right back to Naruto's place. He slipped through the roof like Rowan. He saw the other angel looking slightly ruffled, with red and white feathers scattered around him, blood dripping from his right hand.

"Look, just come back! Its not to late to fix things!" Sasuke said. Rowan sneered at him.

"You say that with _that _in your hand?" he jeered. "I know what that is, Uchiha." He hissed. Sasuke dropped the dagger with a loud thud. "There," he said, moving closer. "I know you want to bring Daniel back, but you can't. He's gone, Rowan."

"Don't say his name!" Rowan snarled, the red chakra flaring up, Sasuke wished he hadn't dropped the knife so quickly; he had no way to defend himself from Rowan. Despite his better instincts, he stepped closer to the other male. "You can't bring back the dead." He said carefully. Rowan moved back, a few more white feathers changing from white to red. "Yes I can!" he snarled. Sasuke looked at him sadly.

"I presume the book told you Kyuubi's chakra is what you needed. Its not working, is it?" Sasuke moved closer. "Because I know you've already tried, haven't you?" Sasuke knew by the blood on Rowan's hand he had found some kind of jutsu and tried to bring back his dead lover already. "You tried to use something called a jutsu," Sasuke explained. "I think you got the wrong idea," he carried on. Sasuke had quickly concluded what that book had said. Without any chakra of his own, it would be impossible for Rowan to use. "Your body doesn't know how to use chakra, Rowan. Even if you did, that jutsu wouldn't work anyway. When people die, that's it. You can't bring them back. You have to understand that." Sasuke said.

Rowan looked completely lost. "I-I don't want him back forever, just a l-little bit. I need to explain, I'm not betraying him, I'm not… I wouldn't…I couldn't help it…" Sasuke needed to calm him down so he could make sense of Rowan's ramblings. "Slow down," he said gently. "What do you mean?"

"I just wanted to e-explain, I'm not betraying Dan, I'm not!" he told Sasuke.

"Why would you be betraying him?" Sasuke asked. The raven hoped he would be able to solve the problem by just talking to rowan, but talking hadn't always been one of Sasuke's strong points. "Its not wrong… to fall in love again," rowan muttered quietly. Sasuke sighed; so this it what it was all about. He moved a little closer to rowan, trying to soothe him.

"Of course its not. I'm sure…he would understand." Sasuke said. He couldn't really tell though; he had never met Daniel and he had no idea what kind of person he was. "This person, he reminds me of Daniel, he's just like him. It's like falling in love with Dan all over again." Sasuke frowned. Rowan wasn't in love with someone else at all! He was still trying to get over Daniel by finding what sounded like a similar person. Sasuke suddenly felt a jolt. He felt himself slipping away from Rowan.

"Sasuke?" the raven's eyes snapped open. "Sasuke! Oh, god!" Sasuke suddenly had an armful of blonde. "Sasuke, I was so worried! We had no idea why you went into the coma, but your okay now!" the blonde gushed. Sasuke smiled.

"I missed you too, dobe." He said with a smile.

"Sasuke, there's something I really need to tell you," Naruto said. Sasuke suddenly jumped out the bed and began pulling his clothes on frantically. Rowan was still at the house! "S-Sasuke! You should rest a little longer!" Sasuke grabbed his shirt.

"Coma, sleep, same difference." He muttered. "I gotta go!" he jumped against the window. Instead of sailing through it, he simply slammed against the glass.

Sasuke staggered away gripping his face and groaning. That had to be the most stupid thing he had ever done. In his haste, he had forgotten he would have his guardian powers anymore. Naruto simply thought Sasuke's was still half-asleep. Sasuke turned to Naruto. "I'm perfectly fine," he told the blonde. "I have to do something, I'll be back soon." He told the blonde.

"Wait, Sasuke! I need to tell you-"

"Tell me later!" Sasuke shouted, running out the door. He knew he was being unreasonably rude to the worried blonde, but he had no idea why he was back and he still had to help Rowan. He relished the large amount of chakra he now had and used to get to Naruto's house quicker.

When he got there, not moments later, he found Rowan still there. "I don't know what happened, but I'm back now." He explained quickly. Rowan walked over to Sasuke and looked into his eyes. "Look, the way you're explaining this, it seems like your just trying to find someone to replace Daniel." Rowan shook his head.

"No, I'm not, I really love him… his eyes are just like Dan's, you two could have been related." Sasuke frowned; Rowan was making no sense now. "I love you, Sasuke." Sasuke's eyes widened.

"W-what?" Rowan had always hated him! They had never gotten along. Now he was saying this? "I love you, Sasuke." Rowan repeated, the words Sasuke had longed to hear from his own blonde dobe, not from the person stood so close to him right now.

All the red feathers that had formed dropped out at once leaving Rowan's wings looking slightly bare. They automatically folded back out of Sasuke's view. "Your so much like him… I love you Dan." Sasuke was completely shocked when Rowan stared kissing him. Neither of them noticed the pained whimper from the hallway. Sasuke knew pulling away would only make things worse, so he let Rowan kiss him a little longer, before gently breaking away and hugging the other guardian gently. Rowan's sobs covered the distraught cries of another, someone who still remained unseen just outside the door.

Sasuke simply let Rowan cry. "Y-your not h-him…" Sasuke just held the guardian and Rowan came to a painful conclusion. Sasuke felt tears prick at his own eyes, but forced them away quickly. Rowan had just been so confused… he pulled away gently when Rowan's crying had died down. "You don't kiss like Dan," he said quietly. Rowan looked down. "I just miss him so much." Rowan said, forcing himself not to cry again. Sasuke remembered the possibility Naruto could come home looking for what Sasuke had to do. "Go back to Lorde-sama." Sasuke said, picking up the knife and giving it to Rowan to return it to Lorde. Sasuke looked upward. "He'll take care of things. If he doesn't, there'll be a problem." He said loudly, hoping Lorde would hear.

He remembered that Rowan had hurt one of the other angels, but Sasuke presumed you couldn't kill someone who's already dead. He watched as Rowan gave him a small smile before slipping out the room. Sasuke sighed with relief. At that moment, Naruto burst in. holding lots of cases. He threw them on the bed. "I've taken everything of mine from your house, now get out!" Naruto shouted through his tears. Sasuke stared at him, completely bewildered. "Is this because I left you at the hospital?" he asked. He could understand that Naruto would be a little angry about that, but Sasuke was simply going to say he was confused and just waking up from the coma had made him slightly delirious.

He hoped Naruto would believe that, after all, he couldn't tell the blonde the truth. Naruto glared at Sasuke. "I _know _why you left me at the hospital. You were meeting _him _here!" Naruto snarled. Sasuke was still completely confused. "I should have known when you first moaned his name while kissing me! All that bullshit about him being one of Orochimaru's test subjects and dying, I can't believe I swallowed it!" Naruto hissed. "Well, now I finally caught you with him, so get out!" Sasuke gaped at the blonde.

He couldn't believe how wrong the blonde had got things. "Well, go on! Go and find _Rowan_, the one who _loves _you." Naruto snarled. He grabbed Sasuke and shoved him out of his room. "I hate you, Sasuke. In my house? It's a bit obvious you wanted to get caught, bastard! Well, you got what you wanted! Were finished!" Sasuke was shoved into the hallway. Naruto opened the door and grabbed Sasuke. "You know what the worst thing is, Sasuke?" he asked in a deadly whisper.

Sasuke didn't want to know; he already felt terrible. "What I wanted to tell you in the hospital…I finally realized my feelings. I was going to tell you that I loved you." Naruto desperately tried to hold back his tears; he didn't want to give Sasuke the satisfaction of knowing just how much this was hurting. He pushed Sasuke out roughly and slammed the door, before locking it and slumping against the wall, giving in to his tears once more.


	31. Chapter 31

Sasuke hadn't moved. He simply stayed there and listened as his blonde cried quietly. He placed his hand gently on the door. He had no idea how he could fix this. He took a shaky breath. "Naruto?" the blonde stopped crying, obviously shocked that Sasuke was still there. Sasuke got no answer from Naruto. The raven knew he would somehow have to make up a lie that would explain why he was caught kissing Rowan. Sasuke sighed; he hated all this lying, so he would have to keep as close to the truth as possible.

"Dobe? Can I at least explain?" Sasuke paused and, once again, was met by silence. "Naruto. Nothing was going on between me and rowan, I promise you. I really thought Rowan had died." Sasuke hoped Naruto was listening. "I had no idea I would see him again." Sasuke continued with as much of the truth as he could. "When I met him again, he started being all weird and saying he liked me. He was in pieces. I didn't expect him to kiss me, really I didn't." Sasuke heard a sniff that confirmed Naruto was still by the door and hopefully listening. "Then why were you kissing back?" Sasuke realized Naruto had seen quite a bit, and was glad rowan had retracted his wings.

That would have made things much more difficult to explain. "He'd completely lost it, dobe. Ages ago, his lover died. Apparently I reminded Rowan of him. He didn't _really _like _me_, he was just grieving. That's why I kissed back; to show him I just wasn't who he wanted me to be. He wasn't thinking straight." There was no reply. Naruto was thinking things through. He couldn't stand it if Sasuke hurt him again. The raven was relieved when the door opened. "I just…don't know if I can trust you, Sasuke." Naruto admitted quietly. Sasuke pushed the door opened wider and stepped inside. He placed his hand on Naruto's face wiping away a few stray tears. "I hate it when you cry," Sasuke said softly.

He took his hand away slowly. "Rowan means nothing to me." He assured Naruto. "You, on the other hand, mean everything." Sasuke explained. He hoped this would convince Naruto of the truth, that nothing was going on with Rowan and there never had been. Naruto pulled Sasuke in a little more and closed the door. "I can't help but believe you," Naruto said with a small smile. Sasuke sighed with relief and hugged his blonde. "I really thought I was going to lose you…" Sasuke murmured. Naruto relaxed against Sasuke.

"Are there any other people from your past that might turn up and kiss you that I should know about?" Naruto asked, smiling a bit again. This made Sasuke smile too.

"No. There isn't." he told Naruto confidently. They sat on the sofa and Naruto let his head rest on Sasuke's chest. The blonde closed his eyes.

They stayed like that for a while, until Sasuke spoke. "Did you mean it?" he asked curiously. "Hm? What?" Naruto asked sleepily.

"You said you finally realized you loved me." Naruto smiled warmly and closed his eyes again. "I wouldn't say something like that if I didn't mean it." Naruto murmured, loving the feeling of being in Sasuke's arms. The raven was slightly put out he didn't actually hear the words come from Naruto, but he could tell Naruto was drifting asleep, so he decided not to push things. Only minutes later, faint snores were coming from the blonde. Sasuke sighed and ran his fingers through Naruto's hair. He loved doing that, feeling the silky gold strands slip through his fingers.

Their whole relationship had begun when Naruto admitted he actually felt some attraction to Sasuke. It was supposed to be on Naruto's terms and all about Naruto figuring out exactly what he felt for Sasuke. At first Sasuke had stopped himself for hoping for the blonde's love; he simply couldn't let himself hope that much for Naruto to turn around later on and say it was just lust, or, worst of all, just a phase and nothing more. Yet Naruto had surprised him with the thing he wanted most. "I love you Sasuke." Naruto murmured sleepily.

Sasuke was pulled from his thoughts and looked down in shock. He found that Naruto was still asleep with a contented smile on his face. Sasuke smiled too, burying his fingers once again in Naruto's blonde hair. "I wonder who your dreaming about, then?" he whispered playfully down at Naruto. Naruto didn't reply and slept on. Something suddenly dawned on Sasuke. He slid out from under Naruto, cradling the blonde's head carefully as not to wake Naruto. The blonde let out a disappointed whine as his head didn't meet Sasuke's warm lap, but a cold pillow.

Naruto was quickly missing the comfort of Sasuke's arms and he woke up. Naruto opened his eyes blearily and looked around, wondering where Sasuke had gone. "Sasuke?" he called, sitting up and stretching with a yawn. "Sasuke!" he shouted again. When he got no reply he got up and looked around the house. He wasn't in the kitchen, so Naruto supposed he would be upstairs.

The panic rose when Naruto realized Sasuke wasn't anywhere inside the house. He went back to the sofa to see if Sasuke had left a note. The blonde found nothing. Where would Sasuke have gone, without waking him or even leaving a note? Naruto sat down and forced himself not to worry. He would _not _become a nervous wreck just because he didn't know where Sasuke had gone. He hadn't been asleep that long, so Sasuke must have left recently. Despite what he had just told himself, Naruto was becoming worried. He couldn't help but fidget and panic more. "_Where_ could you have gone, Sasuke?" the blonde whispered worriedly.

Then something else crossed Naruto's mind. What if Sasuke had left him? After all, Sasuke had no reason at all why he should have left the house, not without leaving a note or something. It was then Naruto decided he would go out and look for Sasuke. There was only one place Sasuke would actually go, and that would be the Uchiha residence.

When Sasuke got back to Naruto's house, he found the blonde crying again. "Naruto?" he asked quietly. The blonde's head shot up and he launched himself at Sasuke. "I t-thought you left me!" Sasuke pulled Naruto's face from his chest.

"Left you?" the raven asked in complete bewilderment. "Why would you think that?" Sasuke asked. "I w-woke up and you weren't there, you didn't leave a note or anything! Why n-not? So, I went to look, but you weren't there, so I came back and you still weren't here so I thought you'd left me, I-"

"Dobe!" Sasuke interrupted. Naruto stopped rambling and looked at Sasuke. "I just went out for a bit. I didn't think you would wake up because you were still fast asleep just before I left you." Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto's face gently. "You silly thing, I wouldn't just walk out on you. I'll never leave you, dobe." Naruto pulled away.

"I feel so stupid…" the blonde muttered, his eyes fixed to the floor. "Your gone five minutes and I fall to pieces…"

"Its alright. You had no idea where I was." Naruto sighed and relaxed against Sasuke.

"I still feel stupid. I hope I don't get in a state like this every time your not here when I wake up." The blonde added with a small smile.

"Next time I'll let you know I'm going somewhere." Sasuke replied.

"Where _did _you go Sasuke?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Just for a walk." He said. "You were asleep and I wasn't tired so I just thought I'd leave you in peace."

"Oh, right." Naruto still looked really worried. Sasuke laughed.

"I feel really guilty now, dobe." Naruto looked up at him, his deep blue eyes gleaming. "Well, we could always go for some ramen?" he asked hopefully. Sasuke laughed again. "You recovered fast. Alright, alright, don't look at me like that. We can go." Naruto jumped up in glee.

"Yes!" the now very enthusiastic blonde bounded out the door. He wondered if Naruto would always have so much energy.

Sasuke simply watched as Naruto consumed an abnormal amount of ramen. Ichiraku had come up with a new flavor of ramen, so the blonde insisted he tasted it again and again so he could really 'appreciate the flavor.' Sasuke simply rolled his eyes as he watched the empty bowls pile up. Naruto pushed away another empty bowl. Sasuke eyed the blonde weakly.

Was he possibly going to eat any more? The blonde grinned. "I wont have anymore ramen if it bothers you that much, teme." He said lightly. Sasuke's memory went back to the tearful blonde he had found when he got home. It made him feel happy that he was needed so much by the blonde. "I don't mind. Knock yourself out." Sasuke said, gesturing to the bowls. Naruto grinned wider.

"Okay!" he rubbed his hands together gleefully.

The raven had paid for everything the blonde had eaten. Happy and full, Naruto was now grinning widely and patting his stomach. "Ah, who knew they could make ramen so tasty?" he asked Sasuke in wonderment. Sasuke rolled his eyes once more; the blonde said that every time they went to Ichiraku. "Why don't you like ramen, teme?" he asked Sasuke. The raven slipped off his stool and shrugged. "I can't say I don't like it because I haven't tried it." The blonde looked astonished.

"You haven't tried it?" he thundered.

"It just doesn't look very appetizing to me, dobe." He noted Naruto's hurt expression. "But, one day, I will try it. Just for you, okay?" he added. Naruto's expression brightened quickly. "Yeah! You're going to love it. Ichiraku ramen makes the best ramen. For your first time, you shouldn't have instant ramen; it really doesn't do Ichiraku ramen any justice. That's probably why you didn't want to try-" Sasuke pulled the blonde off the stool cutting him off mid-sentence. "You wont be eating anymore instant ramen dobe." Sasuke warned and started walking home. The blonde's jaw dropped. He stayed still for a moment, then ran to catch up with Sasuke. "W-what am I supposed to _eat_?" he asked in a panic. "Y-you want me to starve?" he asked incredulously. Sasuke rolled his eyes. The blonde was so melodramatic sometimes.

"I don't mean you won't be allowed to eat ramen, I just mean you can't have that instant junk. Its filled with-," Sasuke paused and shuddered. "Just the smell makes it seem like it should never be consumed. I supposed Ichiraku ramen isn't too bad for you. It least it's freshly made and not filled with additives and-" he looked down at the blonde's gleaming expression. "What?" he asked.

"You mean…if I can't have instant ramen…I can go to Ichiraku _every day_?" he asked excitedly.

"If you want. But, trust me, you'll get sick of that every day." The blonde smiled; he could sense a challenge. "You want to bet?" he asked.

"Hn. Yes. I do. I give it a couple of months." He told Naruto.

Filled to bursting, all the blonde wanted to do was sleep when they got back. The blonde draped himself all over Sasuke on the sofa. The raven began playing with Naruto's hair; a habit he simply couldn't stop. Naruto let out a noise that sounded like a purr when Sasuke raked his fingers through Naruto's blonde hair. "Hm, feels nice." He muttered. Sasuke smiled at the sleepy blonde. "You should go to bed now, because I won't have to heart to wake you later and you'll get cold down here." Sasuke moved away from the blonde.

"Away from the soft bed." The blonde still didn't move, too tired to move from the sofa. "Away from me," he added. Naruto groaned at sat up.

"I shouldn't have eaten so much. So tired!" he complained. "Full!" he whined. Sasuke smirked. "I'll help you," he offered, and picked the blonde up in his arms. Naruto flushed and protested. "S-Sasuke! Put me down!" the raven ignored his blushing dobe and carried the blonde into his bedroom.

He placed Naruto gently on the bed and climbed on top of the blonde. "Now," he moved closer to Naruto. "I can…sleep in the other room…or…stay here," he punctuated every few words with a kiss. Naruto blushed more. "Mm, stay…" he moaned. Sasuke slowly unzipped the blonde's jacket. "If you insist."


	32. Chapter 32

When the blonde woke up, he had never felt more content in his whole life. He lazily reached across the bed for Sasuke, but his hand hit the pillow. "Sasuke?" he murmured sleepily. He got no answer.

The blonde forced himself not to get in another state; he was still embarrassed from the last hysterical panic he ended up in. Naruto sat up and wondered where Sasuke could have gone. Perhaps he had just woken up early and went out for a walk, like before? The blonde confirmed this with a nod and tried to relax again, repeating over and over to himself how stupid he would look if he acted like he did before. Not minutes later, Sasuke walked through the room and handed Naruto a warm bowl.

"Good morning," he said warmly. The blonde took the bowl and happily found it was ramen. "Where were you?" he asked, his voice slighter higher than normal. Sasuke smiled. "Downstairs. Why?" he replied. The blonde's gaze fell on the bed. "No reason." He muttered.

"You were worried again, weren't you?" Sasuke said with an affectionate smile. The bowl was shoved back. "What if I was?" Naruto snapped. "I'm not a girl, teme!" he added hastily. Sasuke frowned, evidently confused. "I never said you were, dobe." The blonde sat up straighter. "Yeah! Well, I'm not. Just because…it would seem that you…y-you…erm," he paused awkwardly.

"Dominate you?" Sasuke supplied with a smirk.

"Yes. No!" the blonde quickly changed his mind.

"Because you seem to have more experience, well, it doesn't mean I've changed! I'm still the same Naruto you used to train with. That means I'm just as strong as you and can kick you ass anytime!" Sasuke was slightly amused; the blonde wasn't making much sense.

"Is there a point to this rambling?"

"Yes. Just because, _once_," the blonde made extra emphasis on that word. "I just got a little…disorientated when you left doesn't mean it's going to happen every time!" Naruto's gaze dropped. "I can't help it. If your not there when I wake up a feel alone. I can't help but panic, even though I _know _I'm being stupid. Its just, I've been alone for so long, Sasuke. And I've never been loved before. So its something that I really don't want to lose." He said in a dejected voice. Sasuke sighed.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" he asked gently. He handed the bowl back to Naruto. "Eat this, it will make you feel better I'm sure. Besides, I didn't go all the way to Ichiraku this morning for nothing." The blonde beamed.

"This isn't instant ramen?" he asked. Naruto thought Sasuke had given up on the bet and simply used instant ramen for the convinence, even if the raven didn't think it was edible. "Take a look at it," he told the blonde. Naruto didn't need any more confirmation. He began eating at top speed. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Breakfast in bed approved then?" he asked Naruto. The blonde would have replied, only his mouth was too full.

He simply gave Sasuke a quick nod, before shovelling the ramen down his throat again. Sasuke wondered how Naruto wasn't choking and watched as Naruto finished the rest. The empty bowl, now of no use to the blonde, was thrust back at Sasuke. "Ah, thanks teme!"

"Now, I don't think I made it clear last time." He put the bowl on the floor and climbed back in bed with Naruto, ignoring the fact he was fully dressed. He took both the blonde's hands in his own. "Firstly, no matter what kind of relationship we have now doesn't make you any less of a man, just because I tend to dominate." he told the blonde with a smile. Naruto blushed and looked down. Obviously Sasuke had picked up on something he had been worrying about. "I-I know that." He muttered.

"And," Sasuke continued.

"I wont leave you. I swear. Nothing could possibly make me want to leave you. Finally, I think in future I'll stay until you wake up, yes?" he asked. Naruto huffed. "I _told _you I won't panic every time!" the blonde's pride kicked in again. Sasuke shrugged. "I think I'll stay anyway. Your really beautiful when your sleeping."

"I-I suppose being _ever so slightly _less dominant isn't too bad…" Naruto mumbled. As not to crush Naruto's ego any further, Sasuke pretended he hadn't heard the blonde.

As the Naruto relaxed, Sasuke decided now would be the perfect time to act. He pulled something from his pocket. "You wont ever have to worry about being alone again, Naruto. This might seem soon to you, but I know I'll always love you." he opened the small box and showed it to Naruto. The blonde immediately knew what Sasuke was going to ask. Tears sprung up in his eyes. "This means forever, Naruto. Will you marry me?" the blonde was speechless.

"Yes, Sasuke, yes!" he let Sasuke slip the ring on his finger, before launching himself at Sasuke. "God, I never knew I could be so happy…" the blonde said. Sasuke hugged him back. "I love you." The blonde couldn't reply through his tears, but he knew Sasuke understood.

Naruto closed his eyes and slid into Sasuke's lap. Something caught Sasuke eye. He looked up. At first he was alarmed, but he quickly calmed down. Rowan was stood in front of him, but he was not alone. Rowan was holding hands with someone. Sasuke's gaze drifted to the other guy. He had brown hair and a friendly air about him. The raven could tell by the look of pure love on Rowan's face it was the Daniel that Rowan had been longing for.

He never actually thought Rowan could look so happy. Sasuke could clearly see the gratitude on Rowan's face. Rowan gave Sasuke a quick smile before looking up at Daniel contentedly. Sasuke smiled and watched as they both faded.

He didn't understand how or what Lorde had done to get them back together, but he was glad Lorde had finally given Rowan a reward for all the work he had done and all the pain he had been through. Feeling even happier than before Sasuke looked down to find Naruto had fallen asleep once more. He gently held Naruto's hand, the one that was now showing an expensive ring.

"I'm glad Rowan found his happiness," He muttered. His gaze fixed on their matching rings. "Because I've found mine."

END

A/n: And that concludes 'Naruto's Angel'. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! There should be a new fic along soon, so watch out for that!

Whippasnappa.


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